I suppose my point, agreed to by several here, is that Dame and CJ are both very good NBA players...but as our 1 and 2 guards, they are NOT compatible thus not a dynamic “duo.” They don’t play great together. Rather, Dame did much better when paired with Trent. And CJ seems to contribute much more when Dame is sitting. Trade CJ or trade Dame is my suggested move. And since Dame is all-world, it’s CJ that needs to be traded in my own opinion. If CJ (with another player and/or pick) can get us a better fit to this puzzle so that we can win now - then so be it. If Minny would accept CJ and Nurkic and a #1 for Towns and Rubio....our chances to win the championship would be vastly improved!
They certainly can be dynamic (on offense) but also sometimes get in each other's way and limits what the other can do. Dame has a higher peack w/o CJ and certainly vice-versa. I think CJ would be amazing on his own team but has a bit of a ceiling when teamed with Dame because of some of their similarities. This team needs more balance offensively frontcourt/backcourt, and more of a defender in the backcourt. Can't hide 2 average to below average and smallish guards against quality opponents. Just doesn't work, hasn't worked, and won't work as constructed.
If you polled NBA players and coaches, they would most likely have Dame & CJ as the current most Dynamic back court. SC and KT are obviously the best back court dual we've seen in the last ten years.
ok, and I was wondering if you were confining it to guards it's interesting if you look at that list, and then add the two pairs mentioned I forgot, Tatum/Brown & Embiid/Simmons; and then add Dame/CJ. Out of 13 tandems only two of them are guard pairs. And only 5 of the 26 players are 6'3 and under and two of those are Portland's pair, who also happen to be a couple of the worst defenders. A lot of red flags waving
Is Dame a better player than Ben Simmons? Its not always about the defense, Denver dismantled Clipper's as they couldn't score when needed. The Lakers had the better combination D and O against Miami. I think any hot team can go on a run and be a disrupter like Miami was last year. If Philly doesn't get consistent scoring from their back court they wont last, so I predict Philly make a move to get a shooter that flat out can hit threes when need. It wouldn't surprise me that they trade Simmons for a bonafide three scoring guard. I wonder if portland might have one of those?
There both dominant the ball when they have it but the problem is to me with both playing together the other 3 player are more outlets to them if they find there selves in trouble so that's make offense not balance. So each night the defense design to stop 2 players not all 5 players. But I don't really blame them the offense is designed like that. Because when CJ was out the 2 players that shot the most the 1and the 2 guards got the most shots. But the other players were still more involved in the offense when CJ was out and vice versa. But like last night the 1st quarter everyone was involved and we had the lead but with CJ at the point starting the 2nd quarter there know flow due to you have CJ plus Melo dominate the ball so flow is gone and you know what's happens when get behind Dame and CJ both think there the ones needs to shoot majority of the time for us to catch that's ruin the flow of the game especially when they was both ice cold sometimes it's and we pulled out but it's really bad brand of basketball. I think you need trade CJ for a player that can score but also a good play maker so got 2 guards that pass the ball where you have better flow. The player I see can do and has improved his shot but can play defense is Ball from the pelicans. Ball going be looking for decent contract at the end of the year so pelicans sign and trade ball to us for CJ and if we pelicans can include Hart some way in that trade to me it's ideal trade for us.
They are a dynamic tandem, they're simply too small defensively. Even offensively, neither is an elite off-the-ball player. Both can, obviously, hit a catch-and-shoot jumper, but neither is comfortable or practiced in working to create separation and havoc away from the ball. They're both best with the ball in their hands. So while they combine for a lot of talent, they're not supremely efficient in terms of how their offensive skillsets fit together and neither has the size or strength to provide solid or better defense against opposing two guards. Having two small defense-deficient guards is tough in a wing league.
My thing is that the question, "Does the Dame/CJ experiment work?" isn't an unanswered one. It just doesn't work I can speculate that it's because they are both small, bad defense, ball dominant, score first guards but I might be wrong about that. That being said our record shows that it doesn't matter why... it just doesn't work. I think the biggest reason it doesn't work like these other back courts you're naming is because Dame and CJ aren't just our back court they're half of our payroll and our two leading guys in minutes played and our one and two options. Whatever the formula is, what results is us not contending. If your mindset is that Stotts is the thing that makes the Dame/CJ one two punch not potent enough to get us to the finals, I disagree but at least that's a logical possibility.
Dame and CJ have the most duplication of value of any two on the list. They have the most similar games and the same deficiencies. CJ is (or has been) just not as good as most of those players. Ideally you have one player who breaks down the defense & creates while the second player rounds out the tandem providing strong defense & rim protection while still being second scoring threat. So Lebron AD are the most perfect fit IMO. Dame and Embid or Giannis would be great tandems. If / when Nurk is playing well he’s a lot more valuable than CJ.
Would you rather have Mitchell and Conley on the Blazers than Dame & CJ? Cant change the mix. I wouldnt.
Did Dame and GT Jr. work any better? I'd say no. While Gary is bigger and a good offensive player, at least from the perimeter, overall he offense wasn't quite as good as with CJ and the defense wasn't any better. I don't think that CJ being paired with Dame is the issue from a player standpoint, but I think you may be correct that having as much money tied up in CJ is a big problem from a roster construction standpoint. I'd say that Dame being paired with a $12M backcourt mate and having a $28M PF or SF is a better contender than having $60-$70M tied up in the backcourt and only $10-12M each to spend on the forward positions.
not the same thing....apples and oranges. Those two are options 3 & 4 on the Celts: and, Smart has been named to the first team, all-defense two years in a row and will likely make it 3 years in a row this season. Walker is probably a better defender then either Blazer guard as well besides all that, and just as important, the two Celtic guards make 50M/year compared to Dame CJ at 80M/year. Perhaps even more importantly, in terms of team flexibility, is that after this season, the Boston guards are owed 90M; Dame/CJ are owed 300M like I said....apples to oranges, especially in the context of this thread I'd rather have Dame & Mitchell, then trade Mitchell to make a better starting unit & roster. Mitchell has a lot more value than CJ I think this problem would likely solve itself if Jody Allen traded Olshey for another GM
