I like that the Cavaliers and the Wizards have become the arch nemesis of the Nyets. The Wiz are so bad that it was refreshing to see a rare prestigious win. Westbrook stun Durant. And JH will suffer more injuries now that he is out of Houston.
I'm not saying that Isaiah was a good player, I'm just saying we needed size last year. Clemons didn't even show that much promise besides hitting long threes. At least Isiah had a few productive games.
Ehh, we were never gonna play someone big once we went small. Going small is not why lost really last year...I mean, it was one of the reasons(the major reason was the Russ was trash). We needed a larger rotation for small ball and our guys were gassed. That is something you can blame Mike for.
My point is that Mike D will always go with the small line ups. I know Isiah was not the Messiah, but it would of made a lot more sense to keep him on the bench (even though the likely hood of him playing was still non existent). Essentially, yes Russ being a **** show really killed us in the playoffs, especially after the first 3 games of the LA series was extremely competitive, but as always with Mike, his insistence of not trying something else when all else is failing is one of the issues we have all had regarding his lack of adjustments. He is a stubborn old man.
I think they will pick up the defense after the all-star break. They are focused on offense right now. Even though they probably have the best offense in history at the moment, I think most believe they have another gear to hit which is crazy.
Coming across this old article is kind of eye opening... https://www.si.com/nba/2018/05/01/houston-rockets-nba-playoffs-james-harden-chris-paul-mike-dantoni Do you guys think this is beneficial to building a team with a strong defense? No wonder Harden was throwing balls at Tate. It is interesting that when the trade happen the expectations were "Championship!" and now people are lowering their expectations. I really don't think defense is a flip you can switch. It's habit and its chemistry and it is a pride teams take. It's fine to score almost 150 points in a game but if the other team is scoring just as easily you have a big problem.
I think they will do that as well after the break it's just dumb. They can coast to a top 4-5 seed but I would think they would want to get dialed in and be rolling come playoff time. Not sure if after the break in a shortened season is enough time. We will see
Holy ****. The eye test was definitely real. Watching Westbrook walk it in at will was telling of the porous defense. Westbrook should not be able to get to the paint much anymore without being absolutely wreckless.
Just saw on First Take that the Nets defense ranks 27th. So, what do you all think is the reason? 1) They are not trying 2) Don't have enough players with that skill 3) Nash and Pringles offer no system 4) Team still meshing 5) Waiting for the playoffs
I honestly think they can coast to the third seed. If all three stay healthy, they will will be top 4 by the break and then possibly get on a roll. If they get on a roll that they are capable of, they don't even need home court especially with Covid. They are are going to meet one of the celtics, sixers, or bucks in the second round. Does it even matter which it is. None of these teams have the fire power to really hang with the Nets. The only question is if they can get their chemistry right, get a couple of depth players off of buy-outs, and if they can deal with the Laker's size.
The adjustment wasnt Hartenstein though is all Im saying. And yes Mike got out coached hard that series.
Correct, Hartenstein wasn't the adjustment that was going to help us win that series. The adjustment was for Westbrook to stop being ass. The Nets have DeAndre, and although it appears he has fallen off a cliff, he still should play with this group to give them a chance to defend the paint. Otherwise, it's just not working defensively. They are going to have to be able to defend, they are not going to be able to outscore the last two teams they would theoretically play in the ECF and Finals. Nash cannot be Mike and think that these "small" line ups will work if they are going to be unable to rebound that ball. That's what shot us in the foot time and time again last year.
I mean we go small a lot though. You have to have the defenders to make it work though, which the Nets clearly dont. Lets just wait till the deadline and buy outs and such.
They have length though. I guess weak links are Joe Harris and Kyrie, but both of those guys need to play. We know KD/Harden are going to play as well. Uncle Jeff was spectacular last year in the switch system. I don't know, I'm hoping they don't get it together anyways lol.
Harden has not been good. He has not tried at all this season this season on defense unfortunately. KD has been solid I think.
