Sorry BJM, but I think the Blazers would have been right there with you last season if they had a bench. I think you're over-valuing Iggy. Five years ago he would have been a huge pickup, but the dude has been steadily declining every year. I think losing Jack will hurt you guys. I'm not saying the Blazers are better than GS, but I think we're there with ya. I like the Dubs, I like Curry, I like MJax, so I'm rootin for ya. I guess we'll see though
I think your undervaluing Iggy. Iggy is one of the best wing defenders and a good passer as well as a rebounder, the problem is if you rely on him to shoot then your going to have problems but GS doesn't need him to score so I think he will fit perfectly with GS and is a huge pickup. I think were about where the GSW were last year, a promising team that needs to show it can defend to be taken seriously.
I don't know dude... his PER is dropping like a rock. Last season was his lowest since his second year in the league. He's not getting better. He's appreciably getting worse every year. Last year his rebounds were a career low, and his assists were his lowest since 2008. Could he bounce back? Sure, but they also lost some talent in the exchange.
I'm not saying Iggy is a bad player, but Batum can do a lot of the same things. Iggy is a better defender. No doubt about that though.
Okay, I'll do it in tiers too: Tier 1: Everybody but the Kings Tier 2: The Kings There's not much between the two tiers.
Maybe I look like an idiot 3 months in, or a genius, but I don't see us being that far away from Memphis and GS, to call them locks, and us potentially on the outside looking in. But that's just me.
That's what I've been saying too. Maybe I'm just completely overrating our team, but I think we're going to be in the mix for 5th or 6th in the west.
A 5 tool player where a few of those tools are fading from him. He's a very good passer from the 2/3 position, and he's still a very good defender. Am unsure what the other "tools" would be for basketball. He's not a good shooter. Doesn't get to the line like he used to.
They would have to get important injuries. But Memphis is pretty shallow, I'll give you that - if Gasol went down, they'd probably be out of the playoffs.
Yeah... Batum is a younger "five tool" player by the same measurements. He can pass, he can rebound, he's a better shooter, he can defend, and... not sure what the fifth tool would be?
We have so many new faces, it could take us a few months to really click, but I think we have the right pieces. We have shooting, we have tons of rebounding, we have versatile players, we have scoring punch from Aldridge and Lillard. We have a bench, which is the most exciting part for me.
Definitely could take time. What I like is it's guys coming in knowing their role. Wright's been in this role before, he's not coming in looking to earn a starting spot. Same with Mo. I feel like our super young playoff teams from a few years back, all of our depth was guys still looking for their first big contract, and guys who had starting aspirations, not guys totally locked in on being a bench player.
We saw some of the kinks last night... the injuries have exacerbated our lack of overall chemistry, and last night all those turnovers were just a symptom of that developing chemistry. Our starting lineup had Barton and Freeland, two guys that I'm sure don't usually play with the starting unit. Moving those guys into the starting unit messed with the chemistry of the second unit as well. We just need to get all these new guys worked in and used to each other. I suspect around December we'll be rolling.
You're not wrong about Iggy, but hes also been playing on better teams the last few seasons as opposed to earlier in his career where he was expected to be the focal point of the offense on worse teams. He came to Denver to replace Afflalo and their defense improved immediately (on the way to securing the 3rd seed in the West). From what little I've seen in preseason, when they give the ball to Iggy in that Jarret Jack role, hes a 100% pass first player. Its a massive difference from Jarret Jack who often forgot to keep Curry involved and called his own number a frequently (to reasonable success). I never saw Curry and Klay get as many open spot up 3's as when Iggy is running point- hes ALWAYS looking weak side to hit one of them for the spot up J. I guess my point is that its not in his nature to be an 18 ppg guy. He hasn't had to be the last three years while he's been on playoff squads, and thats certainly the case in GS where Curry, Klay, Barnes, and Lee are all gunslingers and will likely space the floor better than any team he's ever played on. I understand people who think we'll lose something by losing JJ and Landry. They were both guys who you could give the ball to and they could produce points. This team is different, they shipped off some good offensive players but they picked up guys who will play defense significantly better than JJ and Landry. They got bigger. I would argue that by the end of 2012-13 the team was worse off when the ball was in Jack's hands than Curry's (that wasn't the case early on). Only time will tell.
Is Harrison Barnes moving to the bench? I'm not sure Iguadola is that much more of an improvement as what Barnes showed in the playoffs, and cutting Barnes minutes seems odd.
I don't remember... was Barnes starting at the end of last year? I suspect playing Barnes would be building for the future, while Iggy was brought in because they think they can win now. I suspect Golden State was in a similar position as the Blazers. They could either add veterans and make a push now, with the team they have, or they could play their young guys and build for the future. I think they looked at how good Curry was last year and they wanted to see how far he could take them. That's what bringing in Iggy into the fold was all about. Would you agree BJM?
Barnes started every game he played last season (93 games total including playoffs). They almost never ran plays for him early on and even late in the season and in the playoffs they would only run something when there was a mismatch, which was frequently in the post season because teams threw the kitchen sink at Curry, Klay, and Jack (Lee was injured). I don't think their signing Iggy had anything to do with what they think of Klay or Barnes. They had an opportunity to add an all-star kind of player, a guy who can be a secondary ballhandler, and a guy who can guard Durant, Westbrook, Kobe, Harden, etc. It looks like Iggy really is the defacto backup PG, so he'll start and play backup PG duties. Keep in mind Barnes also had success in the playoffs playing extended minutes at the 4 next to Bogut, and he put on 10 lbs this offseason in preparation for more work at the 4. So with Iggy playing the 1/2/3, Klay playing 2/3, and Barnes playing 3/4 they should all be up over 30 mpg. Bad news for the rest of the bench unit though, as I don't see anyone else sneaking into that wing rotation significantly (Draymond Green may get spot minutes at the 3). As far as who starts between Klay or Barnes, its been a topic of conversation for W's fans all summer. I would rather start Klay because hes a superior defender and he spaces the floor better. Shooting is this team's greatest strength, why shy away from it? Harrison is the better one on one scorer so I'd like MJ to give him the green light as a 6th man. Apparently Barnes was tearing Iggy and everyone else up all summer in workouts, but hes looked like shit in his few preseason games (hes out now with some kind of foot ailment), meanwhile Klay has been VERY sharp. I suspect MJ may be fucking with Klay's head trying to get him to play with more of an edge, but maybe he really does see Klay as more of a 6th man type. Regardless, they'll both get over 30 minutes a game, and I'm guessing they'll both be closing games even though one of them will not be a starter.
