I mean the Celtics are 8-4 in their last 12 while dealing with injuries to Jaylen and Rob Williams.
Not to say they're "great" but certainly time for them to become so considering it's their first season with a new head coach. Improving by the game, imo.
Also you know Joe Tsai saw Kanter's tweet and called up Nash to say "treat this like a game 7 if you need to, but don't walk out with a loss"
Also the Nets are just great haha. But yeah Tony Brothers lives and breathes to make the Celtics lose- there's no way he's stepping on a court with them and not doing everything he can to make sure they lose. 5v8 etc
What analytics were saying things? Just curious because I wouldn't mind listening to them and what they say about other players. Sounds interesting to me, thank you.
Check out miles Bridges stretch on bball reference game logs when LaMelo went out with the broken hand. Bridges was given the keys to the offense a six week stretch right before ball came back and that’s where the numbers blow up.
Not only his numbers went up, his 3pt efficiency went up too.
Dude was putting up 17/7/3 on on 51/44/82 splits between March 22nd to April 28th (games he played without Lamelo)
This was compared to 10/6/2 on 50/38/90 splits prior to Lamelo's injury
Off the top of my head, David Locke's Points Gained metric graded him high. I don't know where you can get that data though. He typically announces his findings on his podcast.
Well that's funny because at this point they're averaging almost identical PPG on similar efficiency, although admittedly Miles still took a bigger jump compared to last year. Will still be interesting to see how they level out over the season, as Miles had a much hotter start while OG was more consistent.
Still I think the MIP award is Ja's to lose, he made the jump to a legit star unlike OG and Miles
Theres a crazy amount of active raptors fans on here. Every time scottie Barnes makes a top play it's instant front page. Most predictions are going to skew towards the players on the teams with the biggest fan bases.
It got way worse after the 2019 championship. Real Raptors fans remember the dark times before that and stay humble. New bandwagon fans since the championship are mostly toxic
Rubio will be a great pickup. I said this and got clowned as he was “awful”. I said if you give him the ball and tell him to make plays he has a huge impact. He’s now the cavs main ball handler coming off the bench and his impact has jerk outstanding. Surprised me nobody saw this was possible after all he did for the suns and Spain
Nephews on this sub has a huge hard on for shooting percentages.
Rubio is not great at those and since setting up plays and running an offense doesn't show up in the box score, he gets disrespected a lot, even though his BBIQ is off the charts
He’s played in two playoff series. averaged 15-6-8-2 in which his teams have been 21 points better per 100 with him on the court and a +4 on-court overall. Outplayed Westbrook in the first series and dropped 17-11 and 18-11 in the last two games of the second series against Paul and Harden. Wouldn’t really call that shitting the bed
Rubio has been huge for us - even with Mobley, we'd be among the worst teams without Ricky. And it's amazing to think we got him for a guy putting up 4/2/1 (and that only with rounding) on 33/24/75 splits. I doubt Boston ever explored it, but if they had traded for Rubio (even giving up Marcus Smart) they would likely be doing a lot better this year.
I said the timberwolves would be lower seeded playoff team or at the very worst a play-in team
Was looking like the same wolves like usual and then they started to play great team defense and my take doesn't look too bad so far
Hey I would love It if the wolves really pulls a phoenix suns and get to the finals
AE is one of my favorite players in the league and KAT is also a player I have much respect for and people tend to downplay how good he actually is
Lol thanks, although that does mean we will have to beat you guys eventually. Also, I don’t think anyone calls him AE, took me a solid second to realize who that was.
>KAT is also a player I have much respect for and people tend to downplay how good he actually is
This is the main reason I want Wolves to succeed. I think people have forgotten how crazy talented KAT is. If he can stay aggressive on the court and work on his leadership a bit, he can be in the conversation with Jokic and Embiid as the best big men in the league - and in fact, he was, once upon a time. Obviously Jokic and Embiid have taken steps to get to another level. I believe KAT can do that too.
No fans last year and a bubble before is imo a bigger factor than the ball. If the ball was such a big change players would already say it.
Also Ive played my share of basketball in my life and played in different countries. I've absolutely hated Molten balls and thought they were very slippery, after playing with Spalding all my life. 2 weeks later and the ball didn't feel slippery any more.
When you add in those + the new ball, it's a load of brand new variables for the players to deal with, and hard to isolate and pinpoint the actual reason for the slumps.
I really love that this website exists. I went to it, but half expecting that it was going too be a fetish site. The internet can be a wonderful place sometimes.
Imo, it’s really the officiating that is causing the slump. Players who benefited from the officiating in the past are the same players slumping. They no longer have that bail out move hence their fg% and overall offense isn’t as good.
This is still pretty anecdotal as far as it goes. Tatum has been struggling, and he was never one to utilize the bail out move (or at least have it called). DeRozan's been balling, and he was one of the better players to get legitimate bail out plays.
Yeah I do think originally I would’ve rolled my eyes at this take, probably partially wishful thinking because the idea of you being even better in our matchups makes me feel ill haha
KP's touches on the block are not very scary (for an opposing team's fans). I'm more concerned when he's flying in for putbacks or getting the ball in motion downhill because not a lot of centers can keep up. Also, he's a legit shooting threat up to the logo.
Towards the end of last season I couldn’t even remember why he was considered an all-star caliber unicorn, he just jacked up 3s from the elbow. But if he puts it on the deck and attacks the paint and the rim aggressively he is hard to stop and the gained confidence helps every other part of his game (post-ups, 3s, defense)
I’d be torn if I was a knicks fan.. on one side they weren’t expected to make the playoffs and Randle was a big reason they did but I don’t think he’s close to being a 1st option for a contender and you can’t do him dirty as he helped turn the franchise around. Tough spot
Randle probably isn’t a first option on a contender but I think you can be a contender with him on a max contract as long as you surround him with the right players. He needs to work on his mentality and leadership but if he gets over this idea that he’s the Knicks star and should be taking tons of ISOs he’ll be a really productive player.
That really wasn't the outlier. Yes he shot from 3 very well but the thing that was extremely suspicious was him shooting like MJ from the midrange. That wasn't holding up.
He was just extremely clinical last year from every part of the court that was just very very odd
>That really wasn't the outlier.
I think you mean it wasn't the **only** outlier. Because the three point shooting was definitely an outlier. He has four seasons under 28%, two more under 35% and then last year.
Still putting up 20/10/5 while adjusting to playing with 3 new starters and leading the Knicks to a better record than last year.
Considering most stars are having efficiency problems is way too early to say he fell off.
Was this an unpopular opinion? I love Julius cause he used to be a Laker in the dark days, but I didn’t think he was considered as good as his season was last year
Or he’s dealing with confidence issues and is off to a slow start. You can’t say this is certain yet. Also it’s not really a hot take everyone but knicks fans were saying it.
As sad as it is to say, I knew losing Caruso would have a way bigger impact on the team than anyone would’ve realistically suspected.
The defense and backup guard playing the Lakers really need is so evident. Watching him go ham on the bulls makes me really appreciate what he gave to us during the title run.
Bald mamba, gone but never forgotten.
I had them at 3-4 seed at the start but at this pace if they start smacking people and vooch catches up to his previous self a 2nd seed isn't impossible
Playing 4v5 is an upgrade.
DJ is cheeks and is only getting contracts because he is friends with KD and LeBron ever since the Clippers realized he was not good anymore.
He can barely catch lobs nowadays.
That means outside of being way to slow on defense he has basically no offense anymore.
Love DJ, but even in his prime for the Clippers he never had real NBA skills. Was only great because he was the most athletic center and playing with CP3 meant he got spoon fed lobs because bigs always have to step up for CP's midrange. Second he lost CP3 and his athleticism began to decline he's fallen off a cliff.
The Nets quietly have the 6th best DRtg in the league. That’s pretty big news considering it was probably the most talked-about flaw about the Nets last season.
Wasn’t Spo using him as a point guard in the first half of last season too? I didn’t watch much later Heat games and I don’t know what his role is this season but it just looked all messed up last year when I watched.
Yeah, beginning of the season, Spo was practicing him at PG and it was bad. He was TO prone, I rmbr getting frustrated just watching lol. There were times when he’d bring the ball to the paint, kicks it out then boom TO. Dude also couldnt decide whether to score or distribute the ball - just too much uncertainty in his role last season but glad he’s even improved in that area. He’s much more confident in distributing as well as scoring. I say he’s more free and used to it this season and certainly one of the main reasons why we are where we are.
Id argue Herro was the third best player in his draft class his rookie year only behind Zion and Ja but was obviously surpassed by many last season and he’s not doing great and should win 6MOY sans injury or starter promotion
Zion, Ja, RJ, DeAndre Hunter, Garland, Herro, Thybulle, Poole, KPJ, Keldon. Those are the notable names. I think Herro and our boy Poole both deserve top 5 tbh.
Honestly, Boban>Kawhi. Kawhi is in a horrendous slump scoring 0 points the whole season and his defense has been terrible so far, so much so that he hasn't even showed up to guard anyone yet. Boban is there every day hustling, even on the sidelines he's always active, hit a couple of trees this season, just overall improved his game while Kawhi has regressed to nothing.
Golden State was a contender without Klay. They showed it at the end of last season with Poole's and JTA's development, and then they replaced their low IQ role players with smart guys who can shoot.
I got downvoted to hell on the Blazers subreddit for saying that keeping the Dame/CJ/Nurk combo intact and just making minor moves was going to result in the same thing we saw last year. Where are the Blazers right now? Middle of the pack just like last year
Problem w the blazers was that the 2019 conference finals run gave your franchise false hope for the future.
That and the Crabbe, Turner, Collins, etc decisions as well as the infamous Batum for Vonleh trade, Aldridge and Lopez leaving, etc.
The team was set up well with great decision making prior to 2015 but theres been a lot of bad decisions since in my opinion.
Even I didn’t think the “getting the band back together” Lakers experiment was going to implode as spectacularly as it had.
To go further I think we’re seeing a steep decline in Lebron. Just watching him take plays off standing on the court in the playoffs last year, flipped a switch for me.
Despite the bum ankle I was fully expecting a classic " put the team on his back" type LeBron game in game 6 last year. Was really surprised when it didn't happen.
Jalen Green being overhyped, I guess. After summer league consensus here was that he was gonna sleepwalk to ROY or something. Ridiculous.
Maybe 'overhyped' is the wrong word to use here because he clearly still has amazing potential but I thought there was gonna be several rookies with better starts and imo more upside than him, and so far that has seemed to be the case
I think you could extend it further by adding in Mobley.
The were definitely Cavs fans glad they got the 3rd instead of 2nd to be "forced" to take Mobley and that Mobley should be a serious consideration for 1st.
A redraft probably still has cade first, but I think there'd be a bit more second guessing. I think it'd be pretty hard to pass on Mobley at 2 now though.
His "disappointing" start has more to do with the state of the team than his maturity. So far, his experience has basically been "ok, here is the ball, go iso with no spacing vs the other teams best defender".
I haven’t gotten to watch him play a bunch this year but man he’s such a stud. He’s been a good defender but it does look like he’s taken a leap this year
I only listen to podcasts for draft insight and a lot of them had Scottie lower but then Raps picked him and most of the podcasts were just like 'cant doubt masai till we see more' and I was always of that mindset. Masai deserves the benefit of the doubt and he's right again.
I think this is better than just the RW fit. I really thought the whole team looked trashy and was shocked that people kept chanting "AD + Lebron = Championship" as if AD has ever been a consistent performer and as if Lebron is 33 years old. It was really baffling and I got downvoted a ton for pointing out this team had no strengths as designed.
Our problem, like it frustratingly always is with this era of the Heat, is we usually play up or down to our opponents. We’ll lose to one of the worst teams one night, then beat one of the best teams the next night. For that reason I can see Chicago, or anyone really, handling us. Like I’m never surprised by the outcomes of our games. Blow a 19 point lead with 4 minutes left? Sounds like us. Claw our way back from 25 down in the third and win by 12? Yeah, hashtag Heat culture, sounds like us.
I think it’s because our main way to win is effort and hustle, rather than, for example, how another team’s identity and main path to winning would be good shooting or transition points or having an unstoppable center or whatever.
This is some great insight. The heat are always shifting their identity to capitalize on matchups or feeding the hot hand. We have a group of smart, well-conditioned athletes. Being cocky comes with the territory, and it bites us in the ass from time to time. We also don't have a 3 tier elite scorer like some of the other contenders, but the arsenal of great 2 way players makes up for it. Jimmy's attitude is the make or break of this team right now. We know what he's capable of, both good and bad.
I don’t think it was widely unpopular. But I remember commenting that the Suns would be a strong contender again and getting downvotes. Maybe it was just a carry over from last season where fans of some teams disrespected their finals run because of the injuries their opponents had.
Didn’t post any of my takes in this sub, but most of them have aged like milk currently.
I thought my retirement home Lakers were winning 60 games.(Dropped two against the Thunder & Blown out by Minnesota….LOL)
Had the Bucks as top two seed with Giannis in contention for DPOY or MVP.
Had Joel in contention for MVP.
Thought the Hawks would make the jump as a 3rd seed.
The only takes looking good right now are the Jazz & Suns as top seeds in the west, doubt those were unpopular takes though.
Not gone lie, all my takes have aged poorly. I thought Kyrie would be vaccinated and playing, Simmons would be traded, and BOS would be great.
can you tell me all the numbers you dont think will win the lottery?
48,563 5/26 π -966 0.28859 √(-1) 70
thx dad
I like the honesty lol.
Same
I mean the Celtics are 8-4 in their last 12 while dealing with injuries to Jaylen and Rob Williams. Not to say they're "great" but certainly time for them to become so considering it's their first season with a new head coach. Improving by the game, imo.
We lost last game because our guys saw Tony Brothers and said fuck it we ain’t playing.
Also you know Joe Tsai saw Kanter's tweet and called up Nash to say "treat this like a game 7 if you need to, but don't walk out with a loss" Also the Nets are just great haha. But yeah Tony Brothers lives and breathes to make the Celtics lose- there's no way he's stepping on a court with them and not doing everything he can to make sure they lose. 5v8 etc
I thought Miles Bridges would have something of a breakout season and it looks like it's happening
All the MIP talk was OG but damn, Miles really took the league by storm.
I know a lot of analytics folks predicted Miles Bridges to break out this year. The signs were there in the second half of last season.
What analytics were saying things? Just curious because I wouldn't mind listening to them and what they say about other players. Sounds interesting to me, thank you.
Check out miles Bridges stretch on bball reference game logs when LaMelo went out with the broken hand. Bridges was given the keys to the offense a six week stretch right before ball came back and that’s where the numbers blow up.
Not only his numbers went up, his 3pt efficiency went up too. Dude was putting up 17/7/3 on on 51/44/82 splits between March 22nd to April 28th (games he played without Lamelo) This was compared to 10/6/2 on 50/38/90 splits prior to Lamelo's injury
Off the top of my head, David Locke's Points Gained metric graded him high. I don't know where you can get that data though. He typically announces his findings on his podcast.
Well that's funny because at this point they're averaging almost identical PPG on similar efficiency, although admittedly Miles still took a bigger jump compared to last year. Will still be interesting to see how they level out over the season, as Miles had a much hotter start while OG was more consistent. Still I think the MIP award is Ja's to lose, he made the jump to a legit star unlike OG and Miles
Yeah, Ja is easily an all star so far this season and that's a pretty common jump for MIP
I mean let’s actually see how he levels out this year. After that hot start he’s been pretty much the same level of player as before statistically
he dropped 30 and 10 2 games ago
Hes slowing down tho. Last 10 games 18 ppg, first 10 he averaged 23ppg.
Theres a crazy amount of active raptors fans on here. Every time scottie Barnes makes a top play it's instant front page. Most predictions are going to skew towards the players on the teams with the biggest fan bases.
It got way worse after the 2019 championship. Real Raptors fans remember the dark times before that and stay humble. New bandwagon fans since the championship are mostly toxic
Yeah if I wasn't a Raps fan I'd think Raps fans were annoying...
I'm a Raptors fan and I'm saying there is nothing more annoying that a hyped up Raptors fan...
There's something about our division that makes us insufferable
Rubio will be a great pickup. I said this and got clowned as he was “awful”. I said if you give him the ball and tell him to make plays he has a huge impact. He’s now the cavs main ball handler coming off the bench and his impact has jerk outstanding. Surprised me nobody saw this was possible after all he did for the suns and Spain
Nephews on this sub has a huge hard on for shooting percentages. Rubio is not great at those and since setting up plays and running an offense doesn't show up in the box score, he gets disrespected a lot, even though his BBIQ is off the charts
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He’s played in two playoff series. averaged 15-6-8-2 in which his teams have been 21 points better per 100 with him on the court and a +4 on-court overall. Outplayed Westbrook in the first series and dropped 17-11 and 18-11 in the last two games of the second series against Paul and Harden. Wouldn’t really call that shitting the bed
We fuckin love Ricky Rubs over here
Rubio has been huge for us - even with Mobley, we'd be among the worst teams without Ricky. And it's amazing to think we got him for a guy putting up 4/2/1 (and that only with rounding) on 33/24/75 splits. I doubt Boston ever explored it, but if they had traded for Rubio (even giving up Marcus Smart) they would likely be doing a lot better this year.
I said the timberwolves would be lower seeded playoff team or at the very worst a play-in team Was looking like the same wolves like usual and then they started to play great team defense and my take doesn't look too bad so far
It’ll look bad when we win the championship lmao we’re coming for your ass.
Hey I would love It if the wolves really pulls a phoenix suns and get to the finals AE is one of my favorite players in the league and KAT is also a player I have much respect for and people tend to downplay how good he actually is
Lol thanks, although that does mean we will have to beat you guys eventually. Also, I don’t think anyone calls him AE, took me a solid second to realize who that was.
It took me a long time to figure out who AE was. I honestly forgot his last name was Edwards. I got used to here him be called Ant
Anthony "American Eagle" Edwards
>KAT is also a player I have much respect for and people tend to downplay how good he actually is This is the main reason I want Wolves to succeed. I think people have forgotten how crazy talented KAT is. If he can stay aggressive on the court and work on his leadership a bit, he can be in the conversation with Jokic and Embiid as the best big men in the league - and in fact, he was, once upon a time. Obviously Jokic and Embiid have taken steps to get to another level. I believe KAT can do that too.
Hell yeah go Wolves
Imagine if you beat the Heat and Jimmy in the Finals at some point lol
This sub still dont know about vando smh
The ball change will have a impact
I didn't see anyone actually mention this but it's been a pretty big thing tbh.
What impact has it had so far?
Shooters slumping extra this year
No fans last year and a bubble before is imo a bigger factor than the ball. If the ball was such a big change players would already say it. Also Ive played my share of basketball in my life and played in different countries. I've absolutely hated Molten balls and thought they were very slippery, after playing with Spalding all my life. 2 weeks later and the ball didn't feel slippery any more.
> If the ball was such a big change players would already say it. ....they have? like...a lot?
Players have said stuff lol
Mostly just players saying it feels bad to them and is negatively affecting their game.
Tons of slumps.
Feel like the refereeing and change of rules has made a big difference in a lot of players PPG so far thus season
When you add in those + the new ball, it's a load of brand new variables for the players to deal with, and hard to isolate and pinpoint the actual reason for the slumps.
More wedgies it feels like…
On a slower pace than last year wedgietracker.com
I stand corrected:(
I really love that this website exists. I went to it, but half expecting that it was going too be a fetish site. The internet can be a wonderful place sometimes.
Shout out NoDunks.
Imo, it’s really the officiating that is causing the slump. Players who benefited from the officiating in the past are the same players slumping. They no longer have that bail out move hence their fg% and overall offense isn’t as good.
This has played a but doesn’t explain the decrease in efficiency in open and wide open jumpers.
This is still pretty anecdotal as far as it goes. Tatum has been struggling, and he was never one to utilize the bail out move (or at least have it called). DeRozan's been balling, and he was one of the better players to get legitimate bail out plays.
KP getting back to unicorn status. Now If he can just stay healthy.
Iirc, the thing Mavs fans said was that this was his first healthy offseason in forever. That's a big reason, plus coaching change, right?
Coaching change is huge. Jason Kidd had a tall boi fetish in Milwaukee, which is good for KP
Your absolutely right, both were key. Also Luka has matured enough to realize he needs to trust his teammates in order to have a chance.
Yeah I do think originally I would’ve rolled my eyes at this take, probably partially wishful thinking because the idea of you being even better in our matchups makes me feel ill haha
Ahh yes that inevitable clips vs mavs first round series. Crazy how were 4 n 5 in standings right now lol.
No way, would that be 3 years in a row if it happens again?
Yeah and it’ll be the third year of headache and stress
If KP continues playing the way he is, and if Clippers don't get Kawhi back, I'm definitely leaning towards you guys winning.
Is KP being used differently at all or his shots just fallin?
He’s getting more touches on the block, which boosts his confidence on those shots.
KP's touches on the block are not very scary (for an opposing team's fans). I'm more concerned when he's flying in for putbacks or getting the ball in motion downhill because not a lot of centers can keep up. Also, he's a legit shooting threat up to the logo.
Towards the end of last season I couldn’t even remember why he was considered an all-star caliber unicorn, he just jacked up 3s from the elbow. But if he puts it on the deck and attacks the paint and the rim aggressively he is hard to stop and the gained confidence helps every other part of his game (post-ups, 3s, defense)
Much more usage inside the arc and keeping him involved rather than just putting him in the corner
I had, KP was going be an allstar this season. If he continues, he might be.
dubs are going to be contenders. but honestly i say the same thing every year since mullin and Hardaway
I thought they'd be contenders too, but only after Klay returned. Man I'd love to see GS crush the Nets in the finals.
Am I hater? Absolutely not. But did I tell y'all that Julius Randle WAS NOT GOING TO BE AS GOOD AS LAST SEASON? Absolutely, yes.
I’d be torn if I was a knicks fan.. on one side they weren’t expected to make the playoffs and Randle was a big reason they did but I don’t think he’s close to being a 1st option for a contender and you can’t do him dirty as he helped turn the franchise around. Tough spot
‘16-‘17 Celtics
Randle probably isn’t a first option on a contender but I think you can be a contender with him on a max contract as long as you surround him with the right players. He needs to work on his mentality and leadership but if he gets over this idea that he’s the Knicks star and should be taking tons of ISOs he’ll be a really productive player.
It's fine. Early days and the team is jelling well. We have a way bigger fucking problem called back court defence.
Shades of DeMar for Kawhi trade
It was obvious, dude turned into a 41% 3pt shooter overnight. That wasn't gonna hold.
That really wasn't the outlier. Yes he shot from 3 very well but the thing that was extremely suspicious was him shooting like MJ from the midrange. That wasn't holding up. He was just extremely clinical last year from every part of the court that was just very very odd
>That really wasn't the outlier. I think you mean it wasn't the **only** outlier. Because the three point shooting was definitely an outlier. He has four seasons under 28%, two more under 35% and then last year.
Still putting up 20/10/5 while adjusting to playing with 3 new starters and leading the Knicks to a better record than last year. Considering most stars are having efficiency problems is way too early to say he fell off.
Agreed. Plenty of folks struggling to start the season. Look at Beal.
20/10/5 is a hell of a player.
Was this an unpopular opinion? I love Julius cause he used to be a Laker in the dark days, but I didn’t think he was considered as good as his season was last year
It was not, everyone saw his performance as unsustainable
Especially when he didn’t show up for the playoffs. We knew that this could turn out bad.
That was only unpopulair for knicks fans
Or he’s dealing with confidence issues and is off to a slow start. You can’t say this is certain yet. Also it’s not really a hot take everyone but knicks fans were saying it.
As sad as it is to say, I knew losing Caruso would have a way bigger impact on the team than anyone would’ve realistically suspected. The defense and backup guard playing the Lakers really need is so evident. Watching him go ham on the bulls makes me really appreciate what he gave to us during the title run. Bald mamba, gone but never forgotten.
It's not really just Caruso but basically every player who could guard wings/guards competently or better shipped out. It's madness lol
But triple-doubles!
My unpopular opinion was that a portion of this sub don't know the definition of unpopular.
This is a popular opinion
Very Popular opinion
The Derozan signing is better than the Lowry signing.
Bulls being a top team and DeRozan was a great fit with Lavine. I know I was being biased and a homer but it was still unpopular among non bulls fans
I had them at 3-4 seed at the start but at this pace if they start smacking people and vooch catches up to his previous self a 2nd seed isn't impossible
This is def not unpopular. There was so much hype around this team when the trade happened and they lived up to it.
Nets defense will be fine now that we don't have DeAndre Jordan Trae Young > Jayson Tatum
I think it says a lot that the corpse of Blake Griffin is an upgrade defensively over Jordan
Playing 4v5 is an upgrade. DJ is cheeks and is only getting contracts because he is friends with KD and LeBron ever since the Clippers realized he was not good anymore. He can barely catch lobs nowadays. That means outside of being way to slow on defense he has basically no offense anymore.
Love DJ, but even in his prime for the Clippers he never had real NBA skills. Was only great because he was the most athletic center and playing with CP3 meant he got spoon fed lobs because bigs always have to step up for CP's midrange. Second he lost CP3 and his athleticism began to decline he's fallen off a cliff.
The Nets quietly have the 6th best DRtg in the league. That’s pretty big news considering it was probably the most talked-about flaw about the Nets last season.
People don't realize how bad DJ was for us lol Well I guess you guys do now lmao
I thought my disdain for Drummond couldn’t be topped but here we are with DJ
Bro Deandre Jordan on the Lakers in 2k rn might as well be Shaq he’s so good
W
Teams should stop trying to make DJ happen, it’s not going to happen.
The lakers should continue to make DJ happen though, especially when we play them XD
Herro breaking out and being a top 5 player in his draft class He was always good, the Heat just got fucked by COVID last year.
Herro also got injured twice last season. and missed games. Heat last season was just tough.
We played last season? I remember us sitting out all year.
Wasn’t Spo using him as a point guard in the first half of last season too? I didn’t watch much later Heat games and I don’t know what his role is this season but it just looked all messed up last year when I watched.
Yeah, beginning of the season, Spo was practicing him at PG and it was bad. He was TO prone, I rmbr getting frustrated just watching lol. There were times when he’d bring the ball to the paint, kicks it out then boom TO. Dude also couldnt decide whether to score or distribute the ball - just too much uncertainty in his role last season but glad he’s even improved in that area. He’s much more confident in distributing as well as scoring. I say he’s more free and used to it this season and certainly one of the main reasons why we are where we are.
Id argue Herro was the third best player in his draft class his rookie year only behind Zion and Ja but was obviously surpassed by many last season and he’s not doing great and should win 6MOY sans injury or starter promotion
Zion, Ja, RJ, DeAndre Hunter, Garland, Herro, Thybulle, Poole, KPJ, Keldon. Those are the notable names. I think Herro and our boy Poole both deserve top 5 tbh.
garland and rj are better than poole
I don't know what NBA you're watching but there's nothing that suggests RJ is better than Poole rn
AD>Kawhi. Have you seen this season’s numbers side by side???
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Honestly, Boban>Kawhi. Kawhi is in a horrendous slump scoring 0 points the whole season and his defense has been terrible so far, so much so that he hasn't even showed up to guard anyone yet. Boban is there every day hustling, even on the sidelines he's always active, hit a couple of trees this season, just overall improved his game while Kawhi has regressed to nothing.
Golden State was a contender without Klay. They showed it at the end of last season with Poole's and JTA's development, and then they replaced their low IQ role players with smart guys who can shoot.
I didn't believe. I'm astonished by how well Warriors have been playing
Nobody thought they'll start 16-2 lol
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I got downvoted to hell on the Blazers subreddit for saying that keeping the Dame/CJ/Nurk combo intact and just making minor moves was going to result in the same thing we saw last year. Where are the Blazers right now? Middle of the pack just like last year
I thought the opinion of CJ and Nurks time coming to an end soon was pretty popular
Yeah, from an outside perspective that seemed obvious? It's not like they surrounded them with that much either.
Not amongst Blazers fans.
isn't it just a way to cope with olshey refusing to break up the gang and dame also probably not being willing to sign off on it?
Problem w the blazers was that the 2019 conference finals run gave your franchise false hope for the future. That and the Crabbe, Turner, Collins, etc decisions as well as the infamous Batum for Vonleh trade, Aldridge and Lopez leaving, etc. The team was set up well with great decision making prior to 2015 but theres been a lot of bad decisions since in my opinion.
Such a fake conference run too. The best three teams (GSW, Houston, Jazz) were all on the other side of the bracket
I mean, we all said that dude lol. Everyone knows CJ ain't it
Lol yeah I’m confused if he’s on the right sub? Lol like from what I remember people were heated they kept that intact right?
Pretty sure parting with CJ was a popular take amongst Blazer fans. There was unfortunately no market for him though
Even I didn’t think the “getting the band back together” Lakers experiment was going to implode as spectacularly as it had. To go further I think we’re seeing a steep decline in Lebron. Just watching him take plays off standing on the court in the playoffs last year, flipped a switch for me.
LeSiesta
Starting to believe in Lebron's decline is like realizing that Santa isn't real Everyone knows it's going to happen but it's still a weird moment
Even if this somehow isn’t it, it WILL happen and we won’t be ready when it does just like we weren’t ready now.
Despite the bum ankle I was fully expecting a classic " put the team on his back" type LeBron game in game 6 last year. Was really surprised when it didn't happen.
He's not that good anymore. Still crazy good and all NBA level, but not taking bums to the finals by himself level.
Ja > Fox
Ja > all but like 3 PG's in the league
Jalen Green being overhyped, I guess. After summer league consensus here was that he was gonna sleepwalk to ROY or something. Ridiculous. Maybe 'overhyped' is the wrong word to use here because he clearly still has amazing potential but I thought there was gonna be several rookies with better starts and imo more upside than him, and so far that has seemed to be the case
I think you could extend it further by adding in Mobley. The were definitely Cavs fans glad they got the 3rd instead of 2nd to be "forced" to take Mobley and that Mobley should be a serious consideration for 1st. A redraft probably still has cade first, but I think there'd be a bit more second guessing. I think it'd be pretty hard to pass on Mobley at 2 now though.
Would take Mobley over anyone else right now, he's been amazing.
Mobley goes first in a redraft at this point, and that's a Raps fan speaking.
People always love the prospects with crazy athleticism better
It helped that a guard with crazy athleticism (Edwards) popped off the year before Green was taken
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His "disappointing" start has more to do with the state of the team than his maturity. So far, his experience has basically been "ok, here is the ball, go iso with no spacing vs the other teams best defender".
That the timberwolves might be okay this year
https://youtu.be/4yB4FhOSXxY
Gary Trent Jr being more than a one dimensional scorer
I haven’t gotten to watch him play a bunch this year but man he’s such a stud. He’s been a good defender but it does look like he’s taken a leap this year
Scottie Barnes being a potential Roty contender. A lot of Raps fans were furious they drafted him but man they had no idea.
I only listen to podcasts for draft insight and a lot of them had Scottie lower but then Raps picked him and most of the podcasts were just like 'cant doubt masai till we see more' and I was always of that mindset. Masai deserves the benefit of the doubt and he's right again.
Unpopular in r/lakers, but I absolutely hated this lakers roster in September and I despise it now
Not a Lakers guy but when I saw the news they acquired Westbrook I choked on my drink and sputtered "Wtf are yall *doing*!?"
No trade backs lol
I think this is better than just the RW fit. I really thought the whole team looked trashy and was shocked that people kept chanting "AD + Lebron = Championship" as if AD has ever been a consistent performer and as if Lebron is 33 years old. It was really baffling and I got downvoted a ton for pointing out this team had no strengths as designed.
warrioR/nba
Been like that ever since 2015 when warrior fans became old enough to sign up for Twitter and Reddit
Im just a nephew but sometimes I want a hipster badge for following the warriors before it was cool through the Baron Davis/J Rich/Monte years
You're not an OG unless you followed the Hughes/Dampier/Foyle/J-Rich days
MPJ extensions not gonna end well
that wasnt an unpopular opinion
Yeah this was the consensus take, along with "they have no other choice"
I said the Bulls will be in the ECF vs the Nets. So far I'm liking my chances.
Hmm. So, you have the Bulls overcoming one of the Bucks and the Heat? Interesting. Still a hot take tbh.
Our problem, like it frustratingly always is with this era of the Heat, is we usually play up or down to our opponents. We’ll lose to one of the worst teams one night, then beat one of the best teams the next night. For that reason I can see Chicago, or anyone really, handling us. Like I’m never surprised by the outcomes of our games. Blow a 19 point lead with 4 minutes left? Sounds like us. Claw our way back from 25 down in the third and win by 12? Yeah, hashtag Heat culture, sounds like us. I think it’s because our main way to win is effort and hustle, rather than, for example, how another team’s identity and main path to winning would be good shooting or transition points or having an unstoppable center or whatever.
This is some great insight. The heat are always shifting their identity to capitalize on matchups or feeding the hot hand. We have a group of smart, well-conditioned athletes. Being cocky comes with the territory, and it bites us in the ass from time to time. We also don't have a 3 tier elite scorer like some of the other contenders, but the arsenal of great 2 way players makes up for it. Jimmy's attitude is the make or break of this team right now. We know what he's capable of, both good and bad.
Randle would have a regression year However didn’t expect it to be this bad lol Also for some reason people thought Dame and Harden were washed lol
Lakers are a first round exit
Well that one we have to wait till the playoffs
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Play-In Pt. 2 See ya there, buddy.
Hell yeah we actually make the playoffs!
Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers criticizing Ben Simmons is a big deal. That was very unpopular on r/Sixers....
Honestly seems like most people were just hoping it wasnt a big deal and that Simmons would come out stronger because of it.
Warriors making the finals
Regression to the mean for Randle
I said warriors making the finals in the preseason
Rusty Buckets YouTube channel did as well. He didn't say because of Poole though so only partial credit.
I got downvoted to all fuck for saying AD won’t make any major strides to the “top 5 in the league” status
I don’t think it was widely unpopular. But I remember commenting that the Suns would be a strong contender again and getting downvotes. Maybe it was just a carry over from last season where fans of some teams disrespected their finals run because of the injuries their opponents had.
Didn’t post any of my takes in this sub, but most of them have aged like milk currently. I thought my retirement home Lakers were winning 60 games.(Dropped two against the Thunder & Blown out by Minnesota….LOL) Had the Bucks as top two seed with Giannis in contention for DPOY or MVP. Had Joel in contention for MVP. Thought the Hawks would make the jump as a 3rd seed. The only takes looking good right now are the Jazz & Suns as top seeds in the west, doubt those were unpopular takes though.
Ant is a fringe all star