Team defensive rating for period from Feb 9th when the 4-game win streak started and Josh Hart joined the team. Edit: Hart didn't play until the 12th, the 2nd game of the 4-game win streak. https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/defense/?sort=W&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular Season&DateFrom=02/09/2022&DateTo=02/19/2022
lol...CJ yes, but Dame averaged 34 & 10 with a TS% of .660. He led the NBA playoffs in winshares/48, OBPM, and BPM.
Seriously, what a clown shit take. In that series, Dame averaged 34.3 points, 10.2 assists and shot 44.6% from 3. He also had one of the GREATEST games in playoff history and you call that holding someone in check?!? GTFOH. And in regards to CJ, with the exception of Game 7 vs Denver in 2019, he never showed up in the playoffs.
yeah and neither will Ant because they’re the same height or something, so this ain’t gonna work pal.
Board seems extra testy today. I’m just happy we are playing the right kind of basketball and have flexibility this offseason. I think it’s safe to say the future is way brighter with Joe/Chauncey than it was with Neil/Terry.
simons is a midget, but hes really athletic and elite shooter (better than dame & cj mccollum) and can develop further in playmaking, which is already impressive, given hes actually a shooting guard, converted into playmaker by trail blazers (dare i say, thank you neil olshey for never bringing in a point guard, he saw the potential in simons and he was right)
I am a propoent of the middle route: keep Ant and Dame and optimize defensive strategies/matchups. All teams have a shortcoming or two. Dame and Ant have to be accountable on defense. Surely they can do better than ~worst in the league? How about they become average defenders? That combined with using Hart more even down stretches will help. Another defensive specialist should be signed post haste.
The Suns are currently ranked #1 in most power rankings. The start a 6’0” PG and a 6’5” SG who is a well known defensive deficit player, particularly in defending P&Rs. Dame is 2” taller than CP3 and has a higher vertical. Ant is listed at just 1” shorter than Booker and has a 6” higher vertical. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a Dame/Ant pairing if they both work hard on defense. The fact that they can roll with the bigger Hart when needed makes this whole issue moot as far as I’m concerned.
Since we all know that Jody is cheap. Will she much any offers for Simons after the season? How much should we give Simons?
And hopefully they are willing to work. But despite CP3's size, he has long been considered to be one of the better PG's defensively. At 37, he's declining, but still 'pesky'. It's as much about attitude as it is size or vertical. Hopefully Dame can improve later in his career and under Chauncey, Ant gets off to a better start earlier in his career.
Why do we think she is cheap? Because they needed to be under the repeater tax? Or are there other reasons I am missing? Personally, I think she is doing what others tell her to do. She seems to be a hands-off owner which is not a bad thing assuming you have a good GM and coach. I like having the full MLE as a tool to get better.
But that 6’0” guy has been one of the best defensive PG’s in NBA history. According to EPM Booker is rated as an average defender while Ant is well below average. Together they are rated more than 5 points per 100 possessions better defensively than Ant and Dame. They are rated offensively somewhat better as well.
Yeah, CP3 is somewhat of an anomaly. He’s small, but makes up for it by being smarter and taking away his opponents angles, he also reads out what plays teams are running and disrupts it. He also recently had a crazy streak of like 45 assists to 1 turnover. I knew he had a game that would translate good to being an older player. I’m not so sure Lillard will do the same.
You know what else is also true? Early in his career, Ant had one of the worst impact win analytics in the entire league. And look where he is now. He’s only 22 playing in his first season with meaningful consistent minutes. He’s already made astronomical leaps in a short period of time in his offensive game. Now he has a defensive minded coach to develop on the other side of the ball. And he’s already shown improvement on defense. I don’t have any doubt that he will develop into an above average defender.
I assume that the stats you’re giving are career stats? If so, I question whether they reflect how Ant has improved in his expanded role and under Billups’ coaching. I also question whether 36 years old CP3 is as much of a defensive menace as he once was. Booker has improved from the poor defender he was early on in his career, but Ant can’t improve?
