Millsap is rejuvenated. They are not going to miss Grant one bit.
Millsap is rejuvenated. They are not going to miss Grant one bit.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
Didn't help that Nurkic waited too long to get to POR causing him to miss all three practices. Commitment level needs to be better than that.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
Quickley looks like the best PG on the Knicks roster atm. Which is weird cuz I didn't really peg him as a PG coming out of college, more just a shooter/slasher. If I were coaching the Knicks he'd be in my opening night starting lineup.
With Barrett and Randle the primary ball handlers and playmakers, you can get away with a combo guard as your erstwhile PG.
Quickley's in an interesting spot. He'll get all the opportunity in the world while his team is getting their brains bashed in night after night. If he can learn and not lose his confidence, his shot might be good enough for the former Kentucky guard to carve out a solid career as a second division starter with an outside shot at more. What was very interesting was his defense. He ate Sexton's lunch all night long-- the Cavs' "best" player went 2-11 with four assists and three TOs on the night for which Quickley was directly responsible (three of his five steals on the night). If he can play at a similar level defensively, he could well be the steal of the draft. And he's in the right place for defense to matter. For all his offensive ineptitude, Thibs is a defensive mastermind. If someone's putting in work on that end, he'll live with the ups and downs of shooting slumps.
What will help Quickley (and other New York wings and guards) is that Noel and Robinson are on the back line. They can gamble for steals, recover to help, and maybe steal a few possessions banking on the shot blocking of their centers. (Thibs' past preference is for guards and wings to pressure the ball constantly.) That suits Quickley's long arms and quick hands to a tee. He'll get beat (not the quickest of feet) athletically occasionally, but he's always in position to make plays.
That said, no one in New York will look as good as they did last night for the entire year. It's so Knicks to have their best game of the season when it doesn't count. They so desperately need shooting. You could live with Barrett as the primary offense initiator if he had 40% shooters from deep surrounding him. Instead, those guys are closer to 30%.
Here's a deep cut: I really like Isiah Hartenstein as a player. He plays hard and smart. He doesn't beat himself. Not very good defensively, but he already understands what to do offensively. He's also got a little playmaker inside of him and rebounds voraciously. He needs to add length to his jumper, and he's a relatively poor rim protector, but I could see him develop into a solid pro. 20 years ago, he might have been an All-Star.
As a die hard Lakers fan, I hope I am wrong....but I think there will not be much mystery about this season if Lebron and AD are healthy. The Lakers are just better than everyone else, and they are very deep this year. I think they may coast a little in the season, but I do not see much hope for any other team in the playoffs.
Also, Anthony Davis is the best all around player in the NBA.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”― Marcus Aurelius
Preseason isn't a terribly useful way to evaluate teams. Hard to see the big picture when so many guys are being rotated into the mix. We can see if a given player looks good or is off his game, though even that can turn on a dime once the games start to count. This is probably an even more unreliable preseason than most given how short it is. That said, can't like it if your team is getting stomped. Teams like Boston and Portland need to find the on switch, and quickly.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
Revering4Blue (12-19-2020)
If everyone's healthy, Boston's got a shot, at least theoretically. Tatum and Brown both need to keep moving forward. Their mission should be finish first in the conference and then make the finals. I'm not saying they'll achieve it, but that's got to be where their thinking is if they want this group to hang some more banners at some point. A lumpy start puts them in a scrum of other teams fighting for seeding in those top six slots. The very top teams in the East are probably going to win something like 15 of their first 20 games. It's go time for the Celtics.
Portland's basically defined its ceiling as a gatekeeper team. I don't think they're a serious contender, but they definitely want to get one of those top six slots and then see how far their form at playoff time takes them. They might have more leeway in the West in that there's so many teams in the hunt that we should see some dramatic shifts in the standings during the season, and it might take longer to stratify. So maybe a slow start won't put them too far back. What that team wants to avoid is being in (or fighting to be in) the play-in slots.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
On what the Blazers displayed the last two games, there's no switch to be turned on. Practice is the only thing that's going to help them figure this out. Though Lillard and C.J. have been there a long time, everyone else is either brand new or has only started or had significant games with them in a half a season to a full season of games, including Nurkic, Trent, Hood, Zach, Melo, Kanter and Simons. They need practices. They'll ge three, and with so many Veterans on the team, hopfully that's enough to get them a win Opening Night versus Utah.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
M2 (12-20-2020),Revering4Blue (12-21-2020)
Last edited by M2; 12-20-2020 at 06:15 PM.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
Revering4Blue (12-21-2020)
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |