Yao molded into shape quickly. Jalen's still f***ing up in his third season. Can't sustain good shooting, can't / won't defend, loses the handle too often. Obviously we can expect difficulty going from being completely coddled to actually learning to play correctly (i.e., no star treatment), but way too many 5-point games and such.
As a fanbase we have been spoiled. We are used to winning. Tanking really fractured some of the most devout fans. Egos jumped in and started to drive convenient arguments. All of us want to win otherwise we wouldnt log in everyday and either vent our frustrations or entertain "toxic" optimism. If we step back off the ledge - what was the most realistic outcome for this year? We started the year off hot and we were so starved for relevance that we started to believe some of the agendas and when you start to peel away some of the contextual layers you notice that we are actually right on time even while underperforming according to others. Will it really matter that much that some people were "right" and some people were "wrong" in the end? Is that how a family operates by destroying one of their own and looking away while they drown while simultaneously celebrating the next guy? Coming from a military family the "never leave your guy behind" mantra has always stuck with me - probably to a fault and to a point where I look at lost causes and see hope vs despair. Sengun is a good guy. I dont hate him contrary to popular belief.
I've been preaching patience here for a while now. We took advantage of a first half-season that was loaded with home games and suddenly people were thinking the year was a total bust if we didn't make the playoffs. With a few exceptions, it's mostly fallen on deaf ears.
the star on this team is the coach . Tilman and the FO are not choosing any players on this team over Ime
This is Stone’s MO! He never trades players at their highest value. He held on to Gordon until he rotted on the vine. Remember Oladipo? Look at him not trading Tate for two second rounders. He would rather let an asset rot then take an offer he seems too low. He’s stupid and a horrible negotiator
Jalen is gonna be asked to come off the bench sooner or later and then his camp is gonna leak something to media like: "I'm not being used properly, trade me I don't wanna be here" 100% this will happen some time this year. I can see the writing on the wall already. Also, Jabari is likely next if he doesn't make major strides next year (unlikely).
I expect Bari to make more progress, but if not, will busting on two top 3 picks in back to back yrs be enough for Tilman to finally move on from stone? Because Stone supporters seem to cling to our draft prospects as the reason why he’s not a bad GM.
I think Ime is working on that. he is assessing his pieces and seeing who fits and who doesn’t. This season has been an audition.
The most frustrating thing about Jalen’s inconsistency isn’t the inconsistency itself, but the peaks and valleys… like Harden struggled through many a 4-15, but he could get to the line and pass the rock, and still end up with 20 and 8 dimes. Jalen, it’s like he forgets how to play ball and drops these 7, 8, 4 point games where he does absolutely nothing and looks like the biggest nba scrub ever. Inconsistency can be expected and tolerated to a degree, but learn how to impact the game in other ways, get to the line, etc.
Looks impressive, who is it? But do you think you can win with a center who has the shot chart I asked you about?
Patience? Why? This is Jalen's 4th year as a pro - he has proven what he is, and what he isn't......he is a CERTIFIED BUST as a number 2 pick - he should never have gone that high and we were stupid to take him there. Now, it is time to trade him and get back something in return, package some of those Brooklyn picks and Jalen maybe 1 other and bring in someone that fits IMe's vision this offseason. Patience - Yeah, **** THAT NOISE - Tillman will demand more, and so should all of us. DD
