Sengun/FVV-centric offense won't survive long term

We can run more. We're going to run more, just watch. It's not rocket science and it's very responsive to clap clap style coaching.

Just like you guys made a big deal about the "years" it would take to reset culture, you're going to be surprised at how soon chemistry and habit repetition is going to help this team take a step forward.

 

I'm not asking for fast. I'm begging for average pace.

 

Come on guys we've had some great offensive teams. This is not one of them. There's plenty to be done, I just don't think they've had the time to do it because this team had so much to learn.

I'm glad Udoka had done some thinking about the bigger picture that we've done well this season. I really doubt we'll be better than the top 5 defense that we've seen when healthy this season. People were hardly willing to project us at 14th in the offseason.

On the offensive side, this team is going to make its biggest strides in the second half. We should start seeing better chemistry and execution, people getting comfortable in their roles, rotations settling down. As long as we get an above average backup C, we're going to have a great second half.

 

How can we have a shooting problem? We have 3 starters shooting amazing and 2 shooting bad. Bench is pretty good other than Tate. That's not ideal but it's not the worst. We're not going to get much better at shooting than this because Brooks and Cam are on fire at the moment, unless Green/Amen take a leap. If the system is waiting for that to happen, we'll be waiting 6-12 months.

The bigger problem is the paint is packed and teams are happy to let us go in there, but we're not doing well battling in there. Jalen is bad, Fred is worse, Amen is good but can't shoot, Cam can't seem to get around people in the paint.

The other thing that people keep ignoring: we get too few transition points and corner 3's by any coach's standards.

 

I get what you're saying but the season stats matter too. We won't remain at the bottom. Cam and Tari taking minutes from Jalen and Tate will help a lot.

 

I swear last I checked we were 5th in defense then we had injuries and the board start acting like we're f*cked I thought we had slipped to 20th or something.. turns our we're still 8th. You guys are SUCH F*CKING DRAMA QUEENS.

Winning a championship requires being a top 10 defense and top 10 offense. It's a complete falsehood that defense is more important. It's false that offense is materially more important. Every player spends half their minutes on offense and half on defense. Udoka is unintentionally gaslighting you guys into thinking something is wrong. Udoka was talking this way about a NBA Finals calibre defense in Boston, don't confuse his excess criticism with actual on court performance. He's always going to be that guy, and you don't have to be that guy. You can appreciate a top 10 NBA defense (and the 2nd youngest starting lineup in the top 10). You can do it. We can improve gradually, slowly in a way that's not visible game to game. We can even get to #1 in the coming months and years. However, we're not going to improve much more at this. We are 5th when healthy and 8th when sometimes unhealthy. Trust me, we are at 99% capacity with our defense. If we split out of the top 10 you can throw another tantrum, but till then can you get a hold of your emotions? I know someone told you defense wins championships, but I'm sorry they just caused you unnecessary anxiety about defense. Obviously, defense and offense wins championships, I can't believe that has to be said in 2024.

The offense is and has always been static in the bottom 10. We have done nothing to improve this. We are 21st. Do you think it's more likely we'll jump 5-10 spots on offense or defense if we isolate the second half? Do you think that for the second half we can be as good a defensive team as the Wolves, Celtics and Cavs? Cause that's the kind of jump it takes to climb the playoff ladder. We have the personnel to improve dramatically on offense. We do not have the personnel to dramatically improve a championship calibre defense. Don't panic, Ime is not out of ideas yet.

There's nothing wrong with our defense. We had injuries for a while and the team seems just a little tired of Udoka's eternal unhappiness with the defense. Udoka seemed to catch himself the other day, finally admitting that in the big picture they are doing well. You guys have to take a step back too. If the season ended today, 100% of NBA coaches would give Ime an A+ for achieving a top 10 finish on defense.

Time to work on the offense. FVV-Sengun I called it early, it's reached its limit.