tbh i think we see the best of each when the other isnt on the floor they are, imo, definitely not more than the sum of their parts when combined on the floor at the same time.
Not saying they play alike, just that curry will be on the 6ers this year just to do what CJ does much better. CJ is such a prolific scoring threat that he will have to be picked up early, allowing more freedom of movemdd we not for Simmons and embiid. And if they don’t collapse on CJ, he would routinely make them pay.
How many 2-guards are matching up with Jimmy Butler and Devin Booker, though? Those guys routinely torch defenders regardless of size because they are just great players.
That triggered me into wanting to take a look at the relative defensive prowess of starting 2 guards for teams that will likely make the playoffs this year. A few caveats: in the East I went with Boston, New Jersey, Philly, Indiana, Toronto, Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Miami. In the West, I went with LAL, LAC, Blazers, Nuggets, Jazz, Warriors, Mavericks, and Suns. There are undoubtedly a few other teams that could make the playoffs, but this list is good enough for these purposes. As a measure of defense, I used career DRtg. As far as position and player selected, I used ESPN's depth chart designation for starting 2G. With that, here's the list, broken into The Good (100-105 DRtg), The Bad (106-110 DRtg) [okay, average, not bad but Clint Eastwood says work with me here], and The Ugly (111 plus): The Good (100-105 DRtg) Bucks - Donte DiVincenzo - 102 LAC - Paul George - 102 (Note: tailed off to 106 the past few seasons). 76ers - Danny Green - 103 Nets - Caris LeVert - 104 The Bad (106- 110 DRtg) Celtics - Marcus Smart - 106 Pacers - Victor Oladipo - 106 Raptors - Fred VanVleet - 107 Jazz - Donovan Mitchell - 108 Lakers - Dennis Schroeder - 109 The Ugly ( 111 plus DRtg) Nuggets - Gary Harris - 112 Blazers - CJ McCollum - 112 Mavericks - Tim Hardaway Jr - 113 Heat - Duncan Robinson - 113 Warriors - Andrew Wiggins - 113 Suns - Devin Booker - 115 Hawks - Kevin Huerter - 116 So, by my probably poor analysis of prospective playoff teams, only about four starting 2Gs are good on defense, another 5 are average, and 7 (including CJ) suck.
Actually CJ plays point every game as Dame's back up and even at times when they are both on the floor.
I didn’t say he didn’t. He’s not any good at it though. Portland’s bench last season ranked last in both points and assists.
You need guys who can make shots or finish to get assists, though. Mario and Wenyen aren't exactly consistent scorers.
mario and wenyen weren’t even consistent members of the rotation. The bench has been an issue for years and the only constant on that unit has been CJ.
So are you saying lack of production at the pg back up spot has more to do with CJ than an anemic bench? If so, that's wonkers.
Excuses. Last year the most used lineup that didn’t include Dame was CJ, Trent, Melo, Ariza, and Whiteside. They were a -3.6 in point differential. Those are three starters and Trent, who was our best bench player. At this point Olsheys ego is driving the resistance to add a real backup point guard. It’s ridiculous.
So then who are these guys off the bench who are supposed to be maximizing CJ's potential as a playmaker?
Honestly that's why hating is in quotes. Whether a poster refers to criticism as "hate" or "bashing" I wanted people to be able to discuss why most of them had no malice for CJ but just honest critiques for how he plays or fits in on this team... along with the fact that there are some really great things about his game and even better things about the way he conducts himself off the floor. Most of the people in here that get labeled as haters have shown that they are definitely mislabeled, a few have shown that they don't really have anything positive to say about CJ. As for those that label others as hating or bashing... they stayed pretty consistent which I find unfortunate. I also hope that this thread isn't a season long thing but people will and should do with it as they please. I would hope that it would be a place for people to voice their opinions about CJ being on the team, come to accept the fact that he is on the team and then support him as part of the team.
I don’t really think we need to keep a thread like this going all season. Does anyone really not get it after all of the years that people have been commenting on the Dame/CJ backcourt? It’s either you want him traded for a better fitting star player or you like his offense enough to overlook defensive lapses and ball-stopping tendencies. Since none of us have any input on roster changes, it seems to me to be a pretty futile discussion, but hey, that’s pretty much the overall description of RipCity2.
