This team could go either way. Draft 2 more scorers and try to become one of the highest scoring teams in the league. Or draft 2 plus defensive players and look to get a few more stops. They are in a good position.
It's amazing to me how many people are willing to adopt blueprints of teams that have won f*ck-all. Take blueprints from recent champions obviously. Instead of talking about all the things we could use, here's an ultra simple list of things to avoid. No non-shooters, unless DPOY-quality defense No hackable free throw shooters, ever No midrange obsessed players unless already capable of ELITE efficiency there Can't have more than one bad defender in the starting line up, a maximum of two bad defenders in the playoff rotation If we avoid these things, we'll become a young contender quickly.
It's a massive risk but trade for Zion and force him to eat Landry's. My dude will trim up in no time and get healthy. Zion with our young studs would be a hell of a blueprint!
Was pondering this the other day ... How many guys have ever bounced back from fatness to resume pre-fat levels of production? Kemp never did Was Vin Baker fat, or just bloated from his alcohol issues? (Francis disqualified for same reason) Yao didn't either Sabonis Sr nope Shaq fell off a cliff and bounced around a few more years as a self-parody We've seen guys who arrived fat, but then got in great shape and never looked back, like Jokic And we've seen Barkley, who arrived pudgy, then got chubby, before going full fatboy, but never had to miss significant time, and somehow seemed to play better as his waist expanded Still can't think of anybody significant who was really good, then sidelined by extreme fat@ss disease, then worked his way back to top form again ... Not a good sign for Zion, especially since the Fats got him so early Most guys at least wait for 1 huge payday before adopting the buffet-only diet I've never seen a pro athlete in more desperate need of a serious cocaine habit Where's Busey when you need him?
Was pondering this the other day ... How many guys have ever bounced back from fatness to resume pre-fat levels of production? Kemp never did Was Vin Baker fat, or just bloated from his alcohol issues? (Francis disqualified for same reason) Yao didn't either Sabonis Sr nope Shaq fell off a cliff and bounced around a few more years as a self-parody We've seen guys who arrived fat, but then got in great shape and never looked back, like Jokic And we've seen Barkley, who arrived pudgy, then got chubby, before going full fatboy, but never had to miss significant time, and somehow seemed to play better as his waist expanded Still can't think of anybody significant who was really good, then sidelined by extreme ****** disease, then worked his way back to top form again ... Not a good sign for Zion, especially since the Fats got him so early Most guys at least wait for 1 huge payday before adopting the buffet-only diet I've never seen a pro athlete in more desperate need of a serious cocaine habit Where's Busey when you need him?
Best chance of winning the title without paying luxury tax? Probably the young OKC route Draft a unicorn (Chet Holmgren) Draft a French half giraffe, half unicorn, Victor Wembanyama Those ping pong balls, though, so "random"
Playstyle blueprints. #1 - Long switchy guys + no superstars. Couple teams like this, this season: Clippers and Raptors. BUT, with Clippers missing their superstar (Kawhi) and a limited Paul George, Raptors having some borderline all-star guys. This blueprint alone is not enough. Clippers failed the play-in. Raptors, got knocked out by a 2-super star team (Philly) in the first round. -------------------------------------------------- #2 - Long switchy guys + heliocentric. They also have long defensive guys, difference is they also paired it with a heliocentric Luka. They pivot to better defense this year. Also traded away Porzingis. One less person hunt by other team on a mismatch. The four starters also covers for Luka's average defense. -------------------------------------------------- #3 - Heliocentric (only). This alone is probably not enough; see the hawks. Trae is not a two-way. -------------------------------------------------- #4 - long + big + defensive + one superstar & two regular stars - iso heavy - Bucks long + defensive + three regular stars - Heat long + defensive + two good stars - Celtics -------------------------------------------------- #5 - star guard + star big Jazz - Mitchell and Golbert. # Lot of 3's in regular season, but was nullified by the Mavs. # One of the slowest teams. Donovan could lose a few lbs. # Outside of Rudy, more on the un-athletic side. # Donovan is hunted on defense. He's turned into a one-way. 76ers - Harden and Embid (two-way center) Nuggets - Murray and Jokic (one-way) - Team is also heliocentric. Timberwolves - Edwards and Towns - Good offensive team. -------------------------------------------------- #6 - Guard focused, many 3's, offensive team to outscore their opponents. Undersized guard at wings position, in favor of a 'bucket getter' Relies on offense, can be streaky, under sized lack rim protection. Hornets - missed the play-in, their coach got fired. This is currently where Rockets is headed unless we pivot. We're like a poor-man version of the Hornets. -------------------------------------------------- #7 good at almost everything - Suns 3 tier scoring and getting mismatches. Defensively. Position 1-4 can switch, but center 5 (Ayton) can play drop. The switchers can also funnel. Cavs/Bucks/Celtics do this too. -------------------------------------------------- #8 Other: high possession / scrappy Grizzlies - Good at low TO's, rebounds, steals. When shots not falling relying on these other categories to give them advantages. -------------------------------------------------- #9 Other: really big team Cavs Bubble champion team Lakers Bucks -------------------------------------------------- #10 Other: young and athletic: Pelicans. -------------------------------------------------- No fixed blue-prints per se, but currently leaning towards #4 and #7. Also why guys like Chet and Jabari are favored.
Good post. Stars are an absolute, but so is a balanced roster. You can't have two stars and trash. You maybe can have three stars and trash, but that puts a lot of pressure on your stars and even the Heat didn't win as much as expected with James, Wade, and Bosh. Also, depth, defense, and passing helps make games easy during the regular season so you're better rested for the playoffs.
Historically and recently: MVP caliber player Superstar or all-star player all-star or borderline all-star Top 5-10 Offense Top 5-10 Defense Keep in mind, sometimes a player can be a defensive all-star or two-way player etc. It's about combined impact. I want to say that blueprint or similar, with some exceptions of course, has been what has won a title for decades.
This!! There is no evidence Jokic can win it all The Suns may win it this year, but as yet have not The mention of Rick Adelman offence - has it succeeded? (**) The obvious answer is just copy the Warriors. But by the time we got there, (a) minor rule changes may make it unviable, and (b) it is almost impossible to find 2 of the greatest shooters in NBA history, and pair them with one of the greatest defensive players AND THEN also add at least another all star to the mix... AND (c) it requires spending a lot of $$$, which our owners may not be willing to do anyway... Let's just get long defenders and preserve as many assets as possible to acquire 2 all star level players and then see where it goes from there?
I think there is a difference between the Mavs and 2004 Pistons vs dynasties like the Bulls, Celtics, Lakers. 1 time champs vs perennial champs. Very likely requirement for a dynasty: 2 Top 12 players of All time and a great team. (I think Curry is probably Top 13 AT, the others Stars hover around Top 70-100 without KD) Great ownership, great historic GM and coach.
