JSJ is Jabari Smith, Jr. There are going to be guys coming and going. That said, that list was presented as if it was 10 guys that would prevent JSJ from being a Top 10 PF over the next decade. I don't think that list accomplishes that as the league isn't static, several of those guys are centers (or likely will be), and at least one will be out of the league within 10 years.
It's funny because Billups was considered one of if not THE worst coach in the league in the not so distant past. He's gotten better, but it's hard to think a Coach who has topped out at 33 wins WITH Damien Lillard is going to be the coach that saves the Suns when Monty Williams, Frank Vogel, and Coach Budz are all far more proven and accomplished coaches.
There were times I might have dumped him for an expiring too - especially early in this current season thinking that contract was a killer when he was shooting .290. Jalen has been incredibly frustrating to watch but as I said several times in the past, he could make a GM look like an idiot for trading him because the fix is such a simple one - fix the shooting and everything else falls into place because they can't guard him if he's hitting from outside. He's really cut down on the poor games and the efficiency is pointing north. Would still like to see him improve from the mid range ..... but 70% at the rim & 40% from 3, I don't have a lot to complain about for the moment.
Everyone on my list, that you consider to be a PF, will prevent Bari from being a top 10 PF over the course of the next decade unless you think Bari passes them as a player. Lauri should probably be the 12th guy on the list because he is still fairly young. I left out players like AD, Green, and KD because they are at the end of their careers. I also left out Zion because of injuries. Everyone else on the list probably has at least 4-5 high level years left which is half of the decade time period. The other half of the decade will have 7-8 guys from my list that are 32 or younger and that's only including Flagg as a newcomer.
Looking at the effect of 2nd apron I dont see much spread out. In fact 2nd apron destroyed Wolves, Mavs and Suns and turned them from good teams to bad. The same old contenders pre 2A are still there Lakers, Celtics, Bucks, GSW, Nuggets. I guess OKC is new lol.
Jalen isnt getting paid to be a superstar, he is getting elite role player money aka Derrick White money. Theres actually no pressure on both Jalen and Sengun cuz they signed non max contracts. If they don't level up then they just make this level of pay for their career. The issue would be if we break the piggy bank for Booker and he remains playing like a scrub, cuz then we are paying him the super max and not getting adequate return.
I agree that Banchero sucks now. However, Banchero's ability to get to the line makes him a decent bet to figure things out.
Queen's game is very similar to Sengun. A baby Sengun if you will. Sans defense + consistent work ethic.
Can't make it any easier.....packing the paint against Amen, Giannis and Sengun. Forget about it.....so the scoring would have to come from the remaining two players. If they can shoot. If the other two are Tate and Steven Adams then we might score 30 points, for the game.
Trailblazers won tonight and are now half a game behind the Suns, who play the Clippers tomorrow.lay Hopefully that's an L. Meanwhile, the Spurs are also just a few games behind the Suns and they play the Nets tomorrow.
Rockets do not currently have Giannis on the team yet are bottom of the NBA in 3P% (27th). Rockets are top 5 team in West despite the horrid spacing + 3P shooting. Rockets success is dependent on REB, low turnovers, FTA + Defense to Offense. Addition of Giannis in current system would be similar to installing nitrous oxide booster system in your car.
I don't know if you are aware, but this season is the first that the 2A is fully in place. Last season didn't apply all the penalties associated with it. This year only 4 teams are above the 2A - Milwaukee, PHX, Minnesota & Boston. The rest of the league avoided it like the plague. As for the teams you listed, they were already good before the rules change, it's going to take time to for cause and effect to apply. Teams just aren't going to be able to keep more than two players at 30% or above and build a competent roster around them. PHX is a prime example. Boston gave Tatum a supermax starting next year, they are going to have to make significant changes to that roster starting this offseason. They'll start the offseason with 11 players on the roster and 17.7m over the 2A.
But thats what I'm saying the 2A just benefits people with money and it punishes small teams without money. Luka Doncic is a good example the reason he ended up in LA is cuz the owner and Nico werent sure they wanna pay him the super max which would be like 350M or something. Meanwhile Lakers dont give a F. Same with Wolves they got rid of Kat because they cant afford the super max so NYC got Kat instead.
I respectfully disagree. Rockets were: *one of the healthiest teams for the first 3 months of the season *Top fast break offensive teams *Top Rebounding teams *Top teams at second chance points *Top rated defense Teams can pack the paint, and in fact did so after I posted that teams would do so in the playoffs. We went on to lose 6 or 7 in a row. Injuries to Bari and VanVleet happened as well. Packing the paint *Decreased the amount of points in the paint *Reduces the offensive rebounds *Reduces second chance points Opponents having more players getting back (Popovich 4 1/2 men back concept of reducing fast break points) *Reduces fast break points by the Rockets Teams would force the Rockets to be a half court offense. Rockets recently were ranked 24th in the league in half court offense. Substitution of Jabari for Giannis while playing next to Sengun would be disastrous. Sorry, we often think a like, but on this we see things differently.
