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Post by shaolinfighter on Apr 18, 2024 19:32:35 GMT -8
It's definitely a tricky matchup vs them. Some people act like it's as easy as just putting someone else like Rui or Hayes on Jokic and let AD be the help defender who comes over to block shots. But that leaves a Nugget open and they've (Jokic) done a good job at making teams pay for this.
If you make AD play him straight up 1v1 then they just pull AD out away from the basket and can scheme easy looks near the hoop without ADs shotblocking presence. Will be interesting to see what the Lakers do. I'm guessing Lakers will try to make Gordon beat them because you can't really sag off anyone else much unless you're just gonna pray they miss.
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hackashaq
::| Basketball Guru |::
Posts: 3,206
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Post by hackashaq on Apr 18, 2024 20:13:09 GMT -8
Bob Myers was both smart and dumb. Smart in that he got the most out of the big three and lucked out on 1 good year with Poole, and left before the ship totally sank. He could walk off into the sunset until another gig shows up.
But he was dumb in that some of this decisions to try to both ride with the old guys but draft for the new era was bungled. He thought picking Wiseman and Poole would be his tickets to a dual track progression for the team, but both choices led nowhere. Wiggins also did not turn out to be the consistent help he should have been.
People in the Bay Area are really high on Kuminga, but I really don't see it. Kuminga may be able to survive with an active Klay, Curry, and Draymond, but he is not by himself a great player in my book. Same with Loney.
Anyway, not Myer's problem anymore.
The Lakers are in a similar spot though. They have an aging star that can no longer carry the entire team by himself. AD is great, when he's healthy, but he's a walking time bomb in that regard. We have no high picks, and we can only really fill within the margins. Meanwhile, the rest of the league has young talent that's only going to get better. Denver ain't going anywhere, and OKC and the Timberwolves are coming up. It's not going to take long for Wemby to start dominating either.
We have a very long road to hoe, and I don't think it's gonna be pretty.
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Post by shaolinfighter on Apr 18, 2024 21:12:57 GMT -8
Kuminga Warriors fans have been delusional about him for years. Reaves alone is a better age 25 and under player than anybody the Warriors have. I do like their Podziemski pick tho. AD will likely retire a Laker and I'm guessing they'll try to hunt for another star to pair alongside him within the next year or two as Lebron gets close to riding off into the sunset.
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Post by history2b on Apr 18, 2024 21:40:22 GMT -8
It's definitely a tricky matchup vs them. Some people act like it's as easy as just putting someone else like Rui or Hayes on Jokic and let AD be the help defender who comes over to block shots. But that leaves a Nugget open and they've (Jokic) done a good job at making teams pay for this. If you make AD play him straight up 1v1 then they just pull AD out away from the basket and can scheme easy looks near the hoop without ADs shotblocking presence. Will be interesting to see what the Lakers do. I'm guessing Lakers will try to make Gordon beat them because you can't really sag off anyone else much unless you're just gonna pray they miss. I’ve liked that look Vs Denver at times too but can’t rely on that full time. Joker is too smart. But to switch it up on him as a defensive look, definitely but I think wed need 1 more long defender on the perimeter. Not Dinwiddie not Vincent, they’re too short for MPJ and the Denver offense gets him looks with the smaller guys running to close out.
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Post by history2b on Apr 18, 2024 22:30:15 GMT -8
It's definitely a tricky matchup vs them. Some people act like it's as easy as just putting someone else like Rui or Hayes on Jokic and let AD be the help defender who comes over to block shots. But that leaves a Nugget open and they've (Jokic) done a good job at making teams pay for this. If you make AD play him straight up 1v1 then they just pull AD out away from the basket and can scheme easy looks near the hoop without ADs shotblocking presence. Will be interesting to see what the Lakers do. I'm guessing Lakers will try to make Gordon beat them because you can't really sag off anyone else much unless you're just gonna pray they miss. I’ve liked that look Vs Denver at times too but can’t rely on that full time. Joker is too smart. But to switch it up on him as a defensive look, definitely but I think wed need 1 more long defender on the perimeter. Not Dinwiddie not Vincent, they’re too short for MPJ and the Denver offense gets him looks with the smaller guys running to close out. AD 1 on 1 is the way we have to go a good majority of the time. I do think Lebron could do it and do it well but it would require a ton of energy. This is how Michael milked energy, he’d make Scottie and then Rodman go stick the other teams best 2 players. AD has to defend him not like they are on the block but like a wing on the perimeter. Jokic really only forces shots up when he’s deep in the paint. He travels a long way from where he receives the ball. That’s where you attack his handle. He always just looks to back you down. He can’t face up dribble. Why sag off him and wait for him to see the needle to thread from moving teammates? ADs post defense down low is top flight but against this team it doesn’t matter as much because his main duty is slowing Jokic. I’ve seen several teams do to him with much lesser players. He hates bully ball. Bully ball can mean Kobe Bryant / Ron Artest style defense out deep. ADs defense while incredible in many regards, it’s more calculated but all upward motion type defense. Versatile elite defense goes all directions.
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Post by shaolinfighter on Apr 19, 2024 5:51:10 GMT -8
All good/valid points. Bron, AD, and Ham all had something to say about some of the Nuggets chatter in the offseason - pretty much all of them saying something similar along the lines of "we can't wait to get a chance at them again in the playoffs". Well, you're about to get your chance time to see they can cash the checks they wrote. I think they need to take one of the first two games in Denver or they ain't winning the series. If they don't win one of the first two, they'd have to either win 4 straight or 4 out of 5 with the 4th coming in Game 7 in Denver - neither of which I give a chance of happening.
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Post by history2b on Apr 19, 2024 10:29:38 GMT -8
All good/valid points. Bron, AD, and Ham all had something to say about some of the Nuggets chatter in the offseason - pretty much all of them saying something similar along the lines of "we can't wait to get a chance at them again in the playoffs". Well, you're about to get your chance time to see they can cash the checks they wrote. I think they need to take one of the first two games in Denver or they ain't winning the series. If they don't win one of the first two, they'd have to either win 4 straight or 4 out of 5 with the 4th coming in Game 7 in Denver - neither of which I give a chance of happening. Yup. We will know exactly where we stand after game 2.
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Post by history2b on Apr 19, 2024 13:50:14 GMT -8
Tonight’s game for the 8 seed in the West has NO favored to win by 1.5 despite no Zion.
I’m taking Sacramento all day.
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la86
::| Loyal Member |::
Posts: 312
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Post by la86 on Apr 19, 2024 14:48:12 GMT -8
Tonight’s game for the 8 seed in the West has NO favored to win by 1.5 despite no Zion. I’m taking Sacramento all day. Unless both Ingram and McCollum have monster games I see a pretty easy win for the Kings. The Pellys did go 4-0 against the Kings during the season though. Still got the Kings.
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Post by chiefsdodgerslakers24 on Apr 19, 2024 15:52:01 GMT -8
Tonight’s game for the 8 seed in the West has NO favored to win by 1.5 despite no Zion. I’m taking Sacramento all day. Pelicans are apparently 5-0 vs the Kings this season with an average victory of 19 points. Zion played in 4 of the 5 games. I'd still take Sacramento but only because Zion is out
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Post by history2b on Apr 19, 2024 17:20:31 GMT -8
Tonight’s game for the 8 seed in the West has NO favored to win by 1.5 despite no Zion. I’m taking Sacramento all day. Pelicans are apparently 5-0 vs the Kings this season with an average victory of 19 points. Zion played in 4 of the 5 games. I'd still take Sacramento but only because Zion is out Yeah, knew that too but I have no idea why anyone would go by regular season games when they were mostly long ago and really comes down to current matchups / momentum. NO only real advantage is Zion. Ingram is a solid scorer but he’s still ramping back up and not necessarily the type of player that kills Sacramento. I was impressed with the Kings defense against GS, something I’ve never really been with them. If that human wrecking ball were playing I’d lean their way because of home court.
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Post by chiefsdodgerslakers24 on Apr 19, 2024 19:49:49 GMT -8
looks like the Pelicans just own the shit out of the queens
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Post by history2b on Apr 19, 2024 20:00:48 GMT -8
looks like the Pelicans just own the shit out of the queens Lol. I cannot believe this Sacramento team, showboating and chest thumping vs the Warriors then shell shocked by a depleted NO team. Weird how GS was in 6th gear Vs us the last week of the season then played like useless chumps vs Sac a week later. Then NO who played us like chumps game 1 just made Queens chumps.
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hackashaq
::| Basketball Guru |::
Posts: 3,206
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Post by hackashaq on Apr 19, 2024 23:20:37 GMT -8
looks like the Pelicans just own the shit out of the queens Lol. I cannot believe this Sacramento team, showboating and chest thumping vs the Warriors then shell shocked by a depleted NO team. Weird how GS was in 6th gear Vs us the last week of the season then played like useless chumps vs Sac a week later. Then NO who played us like chumps game 1 just made Queens chumps. Maybe it's a good sign for the Lakers. They looked pretty good toward the end of the season with some nagging losses, but nothing catastrophic. As Chris Broussard said, last year, it was a close sweep by Denver. A few games, the Lakers looked good but couldn't finish. Hopefully, the Lakers figured out a thing or two and won't be as exhausted playing Denver this early in the playoffs.
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