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I think the point is that you have some different role players when your best player is a true #1 like Wemby as opposed to Tatum.
So just because we have Wemby we should go after bad defenders instead of good ones, or bad shooters instead of guys that can hit a 3? I don't understand the point you are trying to make, tbh.
I think the point is that you have some different role players when your best player is a true #1 like Wemby as opposed to Tatum.
Having a true #1 option shouldn't prevent you from aspiring to getting the most well rounded player possible, tbh.
With different roster constructions you prioritize different complementary skills.
What kind of roster construction would make you prioritize a Patty Mills over a Derrick White?
I don’t see where JPB said that the Spurs should prioritize Patty Mills over Derrick White. I saw where he said that the “perfect” roster around Wemby might be different from what Boston has built. For example, the Spurs might be better off prioritizing more shooting than another highly skilled big. Or, a role player who is better moving off the ball might be preferable to one who is better at putting the ball on the floor.
His second reason was that Boston got fortunate in getting to acquire Porzingis and Holiday and the Spurs may not be able to count on that serendipity in their plan.
The third reason is building a roster to win multiple championships is different from building a roster to win one. For the former, role players are going to have to shuffle in and out, and with salary cap limitations it’s going to be tough to maintain the kind of depth Boston has because so many guys are going to get paid.
Calling Boston's success in landing both Holiday and Porzingis "lucky" just feels reductive to me. These are impactful players and every team in the league had the potential to pursue them, but the Celtics grabbed both of them. To me, that shows an aggressiveness that's impressive. The "let's see what we have" approach of the Spurs has already fostered one negative result, with Keldon going from being seen as a 20ppg starter/scorer (who Draymond Green called a "future all star") to now being viewed as a bench player who doesn't have much of an impact. His trade value is easily much lower now than it was last summer. The fact that the Celts didn't exaggeratedly lean on things like "continuity" or "corporate knowledge" is a huge reason for their success.
Brad Stevens has made some great moves in Boston.
Luka is definitely playing through some pain tbh. Luckily for him his game isn't predicated on athleticism, but it's still clearly effecting him. We'll see how Dallas looks tomorrow. I think they win Game 3 at home as Kyrie will almost certainly plays better and role players always play better at home. And then Game 4 will be more compe ive and could go either way imo. You have to think Tatum will have at least one good performance in the next 2-3 games too. But Porzingis’ injury is nothing to scoff at tbh.I don’t know man. People here will get up in arms about it but this Boston team might be the closest thing we’ve seen to the 2014 Spurs tbh. I’m not sure they have a single top 10 guy (Tatum probably sneaks in there but still), but they’re just so well-rounded and can win in a mul ude of ways. Breath of fresh air compared to the super top heavy teams we usually see where there is clearly 1-2 guys that carry the load.
Trust me: I hate Boston as a sports city and would love for them to collapse and blow a 2-0 lead. I just really don’t see it happening, KP or not. Luka looks banged up and Kyrie is seriously struggling to score on guys like Jrue/Brown. With players as good as Luka/Kyrie I don’t doubt they can have a nuclear game even against this type of defense…maybe even two. But not 4 nuclear games out of the next 5.
I hope I’m wrong. Would love to see Luka win a chip and watch the Boston fanbase melt down after collapsing yet again
damn, Porzingis might be done... This adds a little bit of drama to the narrative.
Kawhi?
Atlspur just had to keep her mouth shut. I knew KP was doomed the moment that thread was bumped.
Video today shows KP walking today and (seemingly) in good spirits. Injury sounds crazy serious (Twitter cracking jokes about the diagnosis) but considering they’re listing him day-to-day it doesn’t seem like he’s out for series or anything. Guess we’ll see.
I still think Celtics can win 2 out of the next 5 even without KP, but if he really does miss the rest of the series it certainly makes things more interesting.
You had me until this line.
Right, because I'm sure the Celtics knew that the Bucks would pull a Lillard trade out of their ass (that not even the most connected insiders saw coming), which would make Holiday available.
You're being intentionally obtuse to push your agenda. You're smart enough to know that while it's technically true that anyone could have pursued them, like with every trade, most either don't have the need, the assets or both.
Definitely not defending the Spurs ultra conservative, rigid ways, but it's easy to be aggressive when you've been contenting for a championship for years, clearly weren't good enough and can get two malleable stars for relatively little.
I just think he’s a great player. Sure he complains/whines like a but in today’s league that’s pretty much everyone. It’s awesome seeing someone dominate the way he does while having nowhere near the athleticism as lot of these other guys (for the same reason, I enjoy watching Jokic have success too).
He’s been getting cooked on defense and the people trying to act like he’s on the same level as LeBron at age 25 are on crack, but he’s still top 3 in the league and on an insane trajectory given his age. I don’t have the same disdain as Dallas as most Spurs fans because I lived there for a while…don’t mind seeing them win as long as it’s not at the Spurs’ expense.
Originally Posted by TD 21[/QUOTE] Right, because I'm sure the Celtics knew that the Bucks would pull a Lillard trade out of their ass (that not even the most connected insiders saw coming), which would make Holiday available.
You're being intentionally obtuse to push your agenda. You're smart enough to know that while it's technically true that anyone could have pursued them, like with every trade, most either don't have the need, the assets or both.
Definitely not defending the Spurs ultra conservative, rigid ways, but it's easy to be aggressive when you've been contenting for a championship for years, clearly weren't good enough and can get two malleable stars for relatively little.[/QUOTE]
No, I'm not saying Boston knew Milwaukee would make the Lillard trade. I'm saying once the Bucks did make the trade, Boston sprang into action and made the Jrue trade happen, which was smart. I'm not sure why that strikes you as obtuse or "pushing an agenda." I'm not even a Celtic fan, so there's no agenda to push. Sometimes it seems like you attribute 90% of all the actions in the NBA to luck. All of Boston's trade moves were just luck, Golden State, Milwaukee, Toronto, and the Lakers winning les were all luck, etc... I think if you do enough preparation, you raise your chances at eventually winning, and it's not a mere throw of the dice that decides it.
Still, plenty of teams have the need, the assets and the opportunity, and miss it. It can't be understated just how well Boston went about adding good pieces around their core, not just Porzingis and Jrue, but also Derrick White, Al Horford, Sam Hauser, Malcom Brogdon (flipped for Jrue), etc.
I've never seen anyone do so to the same extent.
I just think he’s a great player. Sure he complains/whines like a but in today’s league that’s pretty much everyone. It’s awesome seeing someone dominate the way he does while having nowhere near the athleticism as lot of these other guys (for the same reason, I enjoy watching Jokic have success too).
Were you a fan of prime Harden? If not, then why not just say that it's nice to see a white guy play the glamor role at an elite level? It doesn't make you a racist to find that more relatable.
Well yeah, it was a chance to not only replace, but upgrade Smart at a relatively small cost (Porzingis had already replaced and upgraded R. Williams, Holiday was also an upgrade on Brogdon and the picks were always going to be late).
Sure, it was "smart", but it took about as much brain power as rain being in the forecast, going for a walk and talking an umbrella just in case.
The job is mostly about luck (I like Stevens and all the significant moves he's made though), but I've never compared them or the rest to the Warriors and Craptors in that regard.
No, plenty of teams have difficult decisions to make based on a variety of factors or just can't get done what they want for the same reasons. They didn't have either problem.
I'm not taking away from them; it's not like they benefitted from things that destroyed the credibility of their success like the two aforementioned teams.
Man the NBA really needs to fix this finals scheduling. These playoffs have really fallen off after the second round, and these unnecessarily long gaps between games during the finals really sucks.
Add to that, that the league is putting a kabosh on any meaningful draft/trade talk to prioritize showcasing the finals, and you have depressed interest right now.
James Harden was having close to a third of his ppg come from the FT line. Luka was at 20% this year…don’t think he’s close to Harden in terms of getting points off of cheap fouls.
That being said I’d probably have appreciated Harden a good amount more if his good years weren’t during the Spurs’ competing yearsBut sure, I can admit the relatability factor is there to an extent.
Players and coaches appreciate the extra time to recover and plan.
Sportscasters bs, fans and/or wager before end of season; all is as it should be.
BOS and DAL are even in the series with Porzingis off the court.
BOS is + 25 with Porzingis on the court.
I believe he'll try to play even on one leg. But the docs probably wouldn't let him do.
Without Porzingis defending the lane Mavs should be force feeding lobs to Gafford. Might make a difference
DWHITE will be decisive in this game. The Big Balls Buffalo.
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