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Pau will take all of Cunningham's rotation minutes soon. We don't need no SFs
Wow. shocked Derrick White gets only a C+ for being the standout defensive player for the Spurs and doing a decent job on offense. He is obviously uncomfortable with the way he is being coached and thrown into many different lineups. +7 with playing half his minutes with Eubanks, Cunningham, and Pondexter. I really would've liked to see what this team would've looked like had he started the first game as PG like he was supposed to. Coming in late and dealing with plantar I'm sure threw him off his track a bunch but considering all this, he has been playing excellently.
Main problem I see with his offense is that he had been playing in the G league as the team leader but on this team he is like 6-8 on the pecking order it seems. I don't think Pop has it in him to make everyone adjust to Derrick's skills. If he is going to do this, he should just keep him on the bench so Derrick can play more with the ball in his hands BUT he should still play more than he has been. Bertans should definitely start at SF then because I do not want to see Cunningham getting more than 10-15 mpg. By the end of the year hopefully Derrick will find himself comfortable around anyone he is playing.
Pau will take all of Cunningham's rotation minutes soon. We don't need no SFs
I don't recall Aldridge's Portland days but has he always been a slow starter? He seems to be a different player than earlier this year
From What I've seen yes. He's been known to take it easy on the offseasons and play his way into shape. Last year (after signing that big extension with the Spurs and getting killed in the media for his play against the Warriors after Kawhi went down), he came into training camp in incredible shape and had an incredible start to the season. This year he probably took it a bit easy since he shouldered a large load last year and there were a bunch of new players (especially Derozan) so chemistry and rhythm could've been further thrown off from that.
Good analysis.
Tbh Spurs are one decent 3nD away from a compe ive playoff team, albeit not a championship.
Great write-up! I think many of us would have taken 5-1 at the beginning of the homestand. How would have chosen the Bulls as the loss!? "What Bulls!?"
Cut Forbes
Did my Chinook really say that?
I disagree with Houston rising in the standings. Unless Harden averages 47 points the rest of the season they're screwed
I still believe in White. He had wild swings in efficiency in the g-league last year but had such a high usage that he was able to shoot himself out of one bad streak into a good one. He'll get it going, then probably get into a funk, then back going, etc.
Though I still don't care for how after a game that had both White and Forbes go scoreless, it's White who is punished by being sent to the bench. Despite being a clearly better defender than Forbes, and Forbes having less excuse for playing like crap because he's played 5 times as many NBA minutes as White and has settled into the league.
If there’s a physical 2/3 that likes to take the ball to the basket in starting line on opposing team, expect Dante to start. Pop has some delusion that Dante is cut out for that assignment. Hopefully Pop continues to recognize Dante shouldn’t be on the floor against NBA starters and continues to yank him early.
Yeah. Harden already scores 50 and they lose. Gordon doesn’t care and Paul is broken. Rox are done.
Honestly starting to look like keeping LMAM and Ariza wouldn't have mattered.
What is wrong with a LMA, Poertl, Gay starting front line with Bertans in staggered rotation for whoever of those three needs some breather minutes. Start Derozen and White at guards with Patty and Forbes off the bench with Walker getting some minutes as soon as he can show up again.
That gives a fairly representative 8 man rotation with Walker and Poindexter and Metu in reserve. Cunningham goes to bottom of bench.
Making up like a lot of obscure bolds do when they spend too much time lurking. I do think Davis has been trying harder on D for the past few weeks, and it's helped him be more effective. My main complaint with him this year has been how soft he's played, not how "bad" he is. He showed last he that he didn't have to be a defensive turnstile, so I don't know why he spent so much of this season on the ground. I still don't like him and Gay as starters, though. They need someone like Cun, though hopefully someone better than him. If Dante was exactly who he was but actually able to defend his position(s) and hit open threes with volume, then the starting lineup would thrive.Did my Chinook really say that?
Yeah, but the thing is that Cunningham isn't better than Bertans. Not even at defense.
I wouldn't say Cun is more impactful on D, especially when Davis tries. But I would rather than Cun defend Lebron than Bertans. I get impact stats and all that, but there's something to be said about a guy giving up a bucket every time down the court, and that was Bertans for a while. It's part of the meta-game that the numbers don't catch. It's the same thing as LMA being way more important to the team's success than DeRozan despite very few numbers suggesting that, or why the Spurs are a consistently awful matchup for Houston despite the numbers suggesting that the Rockets should blow the Spurs out of the water every game.Yeah, but the thing is that Cunningham isn't better than Bertans. Not even at defense.
Yeah, it says that maybe you shouldn't follow your eye test so much.
For every basket we see someone score over Bertans (because he can actually stay in front of opposing players unlike 90% of our roster) there are probably 3 or 4 where we get score on because Cunningham doesn't rotate on time, or he simply isn't in the picture because he is cement-footed.
It's one thing to have like Kyle Kuzma try to take every shot; it's another if the guy with the easy match-up is the first option and best player in the world is the one you're trying to stop. Yes, Davis might rotate better in a vacuum, but if he's guarding James, rotation isn't really the big issue. I understand the idea that "you are your numbers", but you also don't win games on paper.
Lebron went nuclear everygame of this season against us. Where's the advantage of having a net negative offensive player guard somebody if that somebody is going to drop 36 ppg on 60% shooting against you?
Do you really think Lebron would have done much better with Bertans or Gay guarding him?
You are basing your opinion on a entirely subjective view you have, that, apparently, you haven't researched much.
I understand the idea of having a defensive ace on the forward postion. Dante just isn't it. And since we don't have anyone on the roster to fulfill that role. We are much (much, much, much, much) better off playing Bertans instead of him.
Lebron had great numbers in 2014 against the Spurs. It was still obvious that Leonard defended him really well. James can score 50 and make guys foul out. That isn't a big deal to him.Lebron went nuclear everygame of this season against us. Where's the advantage of having a net negative offensive player guard somebody if that somebody is going to drop 36 ppg on 60% shooting against you?
I think the Spurs would have had a much harder time on D if Bertans guarded him, because they would have helped a lot more. Davis physically can't guard James. He can't even guard him enough to force him into certain places like DeRozan did. Well, I don't necessarily know that he CAN'T, but the way he defended interior guys this season suggests it wouldn't have worked. Gay is an interesting case. I'm not really sure he can defend anyone consistently at this point in his career. If he is moving better now, he wasn't in most of the LAL/SA match-ups.Do you really think Lebron would have done much better with Bertans or Gay guarding him?
Again, games aren't won on paper. Having a high stat doesn't mean anything within an individual game. That's why the Spurs haven't had much of a problem beating offenses who are on paper more efficient. That's why Aldridge playing well changes the Spurs in a way that DeRozan playing well doesn't. Things like match-ups and the defensive breakdowns that cascade from those match-ups matter. It's not quantified well with most stats, but it's not just an opinion. I'm not saying that in a potential Spurs/Lakers series that Cun has to be a regular starter for the team to win. I'm saying that for the Spurs to win such a series someone has to step up and play great one-on-one D against James. The 2012-2017 Spurs had great team defenders and great man defenders. Last year's Toronto team just had the former, and James wrecked them by himself. Obviously, you don't defend Lebron one-on-one. But the help has to be part of the gameplan (like doubling or shading), not the result of a guy getting beat constantly and others having to rotate.You are basing your opinion on a entirely subjective view you have, that, apparently, you haven't researched much.
It's going to depend on how guys play going forward. There's no reason why the defensive effort can't be there every game, especially by the role-players. But half-assed D isn't getting it done against good teams.I understand the idea of having a defensive ace on the forward postion. Dante just isn't it. And since we don't have anyone on the roster to fulfill that role. We are much (much, much, much, much) better off playing Bertans instead of him.
Didn't watch the game but the grades affirm what we already know.
LMA/DeMar = our stars.
Gay = our semi-star/X-factor.
Bert = on the rise if given good coaching and playing time
Mills = ok if used off the bench as our microwave, that's it.
Purrtl = okay if used off the bench as a backup big
Beli = ok when shooting well
the rest = G-league scrubs most nights.
The sad part is given how the current team is constructed, we need some one like Green. A Wing who do not need the ball, can play some defence and shoot three. Wonder would Raptor trade Green for Dante and Pondexter
Last edited by XDT76; 12-19-2018 at 07:36 AM.
Green is on a one year rental with the Raptors.
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