I am actually starting to like this team again.

[NBASupes]

Yes, they are flawed in the starting five but the bench is coming together nicely. Dennis is becoming a stud and someone who's ready to start. Scott is playing well. Tiago is consistent, his lack of athleticism is bothering but he's a heady and smart player who really understands concepts and spacing. I am starting to like him. Tim is starting to look solid. Thabo is Thabo and Mack/Moose and Edy have shown some good things. Not to hyped on Holiday. I think Patterson has some solid potential with more development. I like our bench. 

As for the starters, they need a bigger SF who can rebound. It's simple as that. Bazemore is ready to be a starter at SG but he needs to understand the game even more than he does now to displace Kyle. Overall, I am starting to like these guys. Not the one and done team I saw a month ago. Clearly, I expect them to lose Cleveland and they need to avoid Toronto for another year in the playoffs but they should bet the rest of the east. 

[High5]

This team is one of the most fun in the league to watch when they're playing with a lot of energy and hitting shots a decent clip. But we have games like the last one too often where we don't even compete on the glass and shoot an abysmal percentage from 3. 

[sturt]

30 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

Yes, they are flawed in the starting five but the bench is coming together nicely. Dennis is becoming a stud and someone who's ready to start. Scott is playing well. Tiago is consistent, his lack of athleticism is bothering but he's a heady and smart player who really understands concepts and spacing. I am starting to like him. Tim is starting to look solid. Thabo is Thabo and Mack/Moose and Edy have shown some good things. Not to hyped on Holiday. I think Patterson has some solid potential with more development. I like our bench. 

As for the starters, they need a bigger SF who can rebound. It's simple as that. Bazemore is ready to be a starter at SG but he needs to understand the game even more than he does now to displace Kyle. Overall, I am starting to like these guys. Not the one and done team I saw a month ago. Clearly, I expect them to lose Cleveland and they need to avoid Toronto for another year in the playoffs but they should bet the rest of the east. 

...and play solid, or better, spectacular D.

(And I'm actually starting to like this poster again... hehe)

 

[RedDawg#8]

Good post. I truly think based on the eye test we have three issues that will keep us from reaching our true potential. 2 of which can be fixed without bringing in another player.

1. Starting games slow

We just do. And way too often might I add. The only times we dont are after we have a bad loss then we always come out guns blazing the next game. We have to do better period. 

2. Playing down to competition. 

We have managed to make bad teams like Charlotte,Minnesota, Portland, and Sacramento look like playoff teams. It was easy to ignore in November but its still happening too often. Someone should remind our guys that last year is over and we should stop acting like we won anything when we havent. New year , new team, we need to play like we have something to prove and not the other way around. 

3. Rebounding

It's been well documented. The system excuse doesn't hold weight anymore especially considering our offseason focus was supposed to be rebounding. We just aren't good at it.

Solutions

1.+2. We need to shake up our lineup. Seriously, we arent going to turn it around doing nothing. Thabo needs to come back to the starting lineup and replace Kyle and Dennis needs to be given a chance to start. Kyle is slumping period. Sit him. Let other guys play that aren't 100 dependant on a jumpshot.  If Kyle isn't shooting well what else does he bring. He can lead from the bench we need to do better on the court. Starting Dennis is a more risky because he is still so unpredictable but he will bring effort and energy no matter what and Jeff is stuck in his midseason sleep walk which is mainly why we get off to such slow starts. Dennis also is just better at running the pick and roll which will help get Al going earlier in the games. Long story short we look bad starting games and against bad teams. Let's reward the guys who are bringing effort and energy 100% of the time instead of starting a slumpning vet and disinterested pg. Plus I think Jeff could be a lethal spark off the bench againt opponents 2nd units. He could actually produce better in that role considering he is a much more natural scorer than facilitator anyway.

3. lastly

Bring in a rebounder. Doesn't matter if they play C or PF just bring in somebody who has a nose for the ball and isn't afraid to get dirty. We are sorrly missing that toughness edge. If we can package some of our end of bench guys and maybe a pick or to to get better that would be awesome and get us closer to the top

 

 

[Gray Mule]

#3 - One of our best rebounders and our biggest player usually sits on the bench when he's

not playing in the D League.  Edy needs a minute or two here and there.  He's sure no starter

right now but it might be fun to watch him play with the starting unit instead of the mop up

crew at the end of blow out games.

[NBASupes]

Bud isn't Pop, he doesn't like to play raw players much and give them time in the dleague as well. Edy isn't likely to see time this year 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

Bud isn't Pop, he doesn't like to play raw players much and give them time in the dleague as well. Edy isn't likely to see time this year 

Pop has equity and rings so he can do that.  Anderson rarely played last season but spent a lot of time in DLeague. 

We need a DLEAGUE team.

[BigDog90]

7 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Yes, they are flawed in the starting five but the bench is coming together nicely. Dennis is becoming a stud and someone who's ready to start. Scott is playing well. Tiago is consistent, his lack of athleticism is bothering but he's a heady and smart player who really understands concepts and spacing. I am starting to like him. Tim is starting to look solid. Thabo is Thabo and Mack/Moose and Edy have shown some good things. Not to hyped on Holiday. I think Patterson has some solid potential with more development. I like our bench. 

As for the starters, they need a bigger SF who can rebound. It's simple as that. Bazemore is ready to be a starter at SG but he needs to understand the game even more than he does now to displace Kyle. Overall, I am starting to like these guys. Not the one and done team I saw a month ago. Clearly, I expect them to lose Cleveland and they need to avoid Toronto for another year in the playoffs but they should bet the rest of the east. 

I wonder could Bud run Kyle's plays through Hardaway or Bazemore. 

[Plainview1981]

This team is terrible to watch. They don't shoot or move the ball well enough anymore to make up for their pitiful rebounding. 

[Plainview1981]

6 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Good post. I truly think based on the eye test we have three issues that will keep us from reaching our true potential. 2 of which can be fixed without bringing in another player.

1. Starting games slow

We just do. And way too often might I add. The only times we dont are after we have a bad loss then we always come out guns blazing the next game. We have to do better period. 

2. Playing down to competition. 

We have managed to make bad teams like Charlotte,Minnesota, Portland, and Sacramento look like playoff teams. It was easy to ignore in November but its still happening too often. Someone should remind our guys that last year is over and we should stop acting like we won anything when we havent. New year , new team, we need to play like we have something to prove and not the other way around. 

3. Rebounding

It's been well documented. The system excuse doesn't hold weight anymore especially considering our offseason focus was supposed to be rebounding. We just aren't good at it.

Solutions

1.+2. We need to shake up our lineup. Seriously, we arent going to turn it around doing nothing. Thabo needs to come back to the starting lineup and replace Kyle and Dennis needs to be given a chance to start. Kyle is slumping period. Sit him. Let other guys play that aren't 100 dependant on a jumpshot.  If Kyle isn't shooting well what else does he bring. He can lead from the bench we need to do better on the court. Starting Dennis is a more risky because he is still so unpredictable but he will bring effort and energy no matter what and Jeff is stuck in his midseason sleep walk which is mainly why we get off to such slow starts. Dennis also is just better at running the pick and roll which will help get Al going earlier in the games. Long story short we look bad starting games and against bad teams. Let's reward the guys who are bringing effort and energy 100% of the time instead of starting a slumpning vet and disinterested pg. Plus I think Jeff could be a lethal spark off the bench againt opponents 2nd units. He could actually produce better in that role considering he is a much more natural scorer than facilitator anyway.

3. lastly

Bring in a rebounder. Doesn't matter if they play C or PF just bring in somebody who has a nose for the ball and isn't afraid to get dirty. We are sorrly missing that toughness edge. If we can package some of our end of bench guys and maybe a pick or to to get better that would be awesome and get us closer to the top

 

 

Agreed. Thabo isn't a great scorer, but Kyle rarely scores double digits these days. So, we're not losing offense at this point...

Kyle might be the worst defender in the NBA that is playing 30MPG.

[NBASupes]

Our wings need to play better defense more consistently 

[QuantumHawkz]

If Teague and Korver gets healthy, THJ keeps improving this team can do damage in the playoffs. I truly believe Horford is going to show out in the playoffs cause he knows that's where his pay day is.  The defense  and offense rating are both improving as well.