This whole thing is so Machiavellian. Getting players to candidly shit talk each other behind the veil of anonymity.... Just for clicks?
Interesting that quite a few think Siakam is overrated. Jaden McDaniels rated quite high defensively and considered underrated by many. Jrue Holiday considered by strong majority to be best defensive player. Jaren Jackson not rated very high.
Is this meant to be a criticism? Because that stuff is fucking awesome! BTW: Machiavelli was a genius, and not in the least "Machiavellian." Little known fact: he was tortured by having his hands tied behind his back and then hung by a rope tied to his wrists. This only failed to wrench his shoulders from their sockets because he was so small and light.
Yeah, you can tell the players only care about man-to-man defense because they underrate the big guys who are actually much more important because they're a key part of TEAM defense. Players are just thinking "who's the biggest pest?"
A very fun piece by the Athletic. From it: “(The Blazers) haven’t really won that much,” the player who voted for Lillard said. “I know he’s a great player individually, but … that’s what happens when you shoot that much. And then just over his career, he (hasn’t) won that much. It’s not his fault, in particular, but I just think he’s a little overhyped.” Notice "... the player who voted for Lillard...". If he got 3.7% of the overrated votes, and there was only one player that voted for him, then that means he got 1 vote out of 27. Trae Young got 4. It's interesting but not statistically relevant. He ALSO might be right, given how much pub Dame gets and he isn't even a shoe-in to make an all-NBA team this year in spite of it being arguably his best.
It's hard to put that on Dame. We have had some REALLY bad teams and I think he has tried to defer to get other guys involved, but eventually he gets frustrated when people aren't hitting shots. At the same time, Dame jacking 30+ footers as soon as he crosses half court is not really a great offense.
It also makes defenders, and defenses in general, have to worry about him from much further away, which, in theory, opens up the floor a lot more.
I know and I’m not necessarily against those shots but I worry about what it does to the flow of offense. Overall teams just play better with good ball movement. Getting players involved. Breaking down a defense. I have never really liked possessions where the ball doesn’t move at all
I think the fact that fans still show up is the reason i give. If Denver or Memphis were as bad, there'd be no one in attendence. I lived in Denver. Until recently, Only a few diehards cared. But i agree with you as well. Because of the tank, there have been crowds with WAY more opposing fans than in the past. There's always been opposing fans there, but not in these numbers. I couldn't believe how many Raptors fans were there this year. I felt like the game was in Toronto. It seemed like half the crowd for the last Warriors game was from the Bay Area. Plus the Warriors fans were so annoying with all the ooh & ahh-ing. If the Warriors farted they ooh'd & ahh'd. Ridiculous. With a return to winning this will become less and less IMO.
I hear you, and I agree about ball movement. But you can get better ball movement with more space. If we had better players around Dame it should make their lives much easier on offense. The point of being able to shoot out that far means they should have to guard you out there. And if they put a single defender on Dame out there, he can pretty much blow by them. Then you're playing 5 on 4. If they throw 2 at him, somebody is wide open.
