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Thread: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

  1. #16
    Member Bourgeois Zee's Avatar
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    Jarrett Culver has averaged 12 and 8 over the first two games of this season. He's getting about 20 mpg and deserves more.

    The "issue" is that the TWolves have six guys who are playing guard and wing spots-- and at least four of them are playing great ball right now. Minnesota's plan, then, has been to pull a San Antonio, moving a wing to power forward. Culver has thrived as a small ball PF. He's defending like he did in college and has shot incredibly well (especially at the corner). His athleticism allows him to guard four positions. He rebounds well in space and has shown a knack for corralling long caroms.

    Anthony Edwards has also moved into that hybrid, small ball PF. About half his minutes have come at that spot, and he's been much better than I expected, especially as a shooter. (Remember, it's early in the season.) That's helped the Wolves defend at the PF spot better, as both guys have long arms and quick feet. It's also allowed Minnesota to get out on the break. Edwards will often streak to the other end, for example, looking for a KAT outlet pass. That allows Edwards (and Culver and Okogie and Beasley) to play one-on-one-- his strength-- attempting to score. KAT hit Edwards with multiple three-quarter length outlet passes against Utah last night, and the number one pick scored each time. (That's really good coaching, IMO.)

    Malik Beasley hasn't been hitting on all cylinders yet. Nor have KAT and Russell. They've certainly been serviceable. Beasley gives them a third option and perimeter guy who's shown a (surprising) willingness to drive straight to the hoop. (I'm guessing Saunders has really focused on finding good shots from deep or the rim, as pretty much the entire team has focused on those two spots.) Beasley's shooting hasn't been elite, but it should improve.

    Defensively, they switch on all pick and rolls not including KAT or Naz Reid. (Watch for opposing teams to pick and roll with centers to negate that advantage and get some clean looks moving forward. They've done it already, but have missed more than they ought to on the perimeter.) It helps that Russell and Rubio are taller PGs who've shown they're fine switching when they need to. Okogie's been picking up three-quarters court when he's in the game. And he's playing hard. If he could shoot, he'd be an All-Star.

    If Culver's leap forward is real,

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  4. #17
    Member adkindo's Avatar
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    - Are the Hawks the most fun team to watch in the NBA?
    - Is Trae Young the most fun player in the NBA to watch?
    - Do we ever get to a point where we consider the Hawks the winner of the Doncic/Young trade?
    “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.”
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  5. #18
    Member Bourgeois Zee's Avatar
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    Quote Originally Posted by adkindo View Post
    - Are the Hawks the most fun team to watch in the NBA?
    - Is Trae Young the most fun player in the NBA to watch?
    - Do we ever get to a point where we consider the Hawks the winner of the Doncic/Young trade?
    1. I'd argue Brooklyn, Toronto, Minnesota, Indiana, San Antonio, and Dallas are all equally as fun or moreso.

    2. Nope. Not until he plays even a little defense.

    3. Nope. Doncic is an All-Star MVP level guy. Trae Young scores a lot of points and passes okay.

  6. #19
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bourgeois Zee View Post
    Jarrett Culver has averaged 12 and 8 over the first two games of this season. He's getting about 20 mpg and deserves more.

    The "issue" is that the TWolves have six guys who are playing guard and wing spots-- and at least four of them are playing great ball right now. Minnesota's plan, then, has been to pull a San Antonio, moving a wing to power forward. Culver has thrived as a small ball PF. He's defending like he did in college and has shot incredibly well (especially at the corner). His athleticism allows him to guard four positions. He rebounds well in space and has shown a knack for corralling long caroms.

    Anthony Edwards has also moved into that hybrid, small ball PF. About half his minutes have come at that spot, and he's been much better than I expected, especially as a shooter. (Remember, it's early in the season.) That's helped the Wolves defend at the PF spot better, as both guys have long arms and quick feet. It's also allowed Minnesota to get out on the break. Edwards will often streak to the other end, for example, looking for a KAT outlet pass. That allows Edwards (and Culver and Okogie and Beasley) to play one-on-one-- his strength-- attempting to score. KAT hit Edwards with multiple three-quarter length outlet passes against Utah last night, and the number one pick scored each time. (That's really good coaching, IMO.)

    Malik Beasley hasn't been hitting on all cylinders yet. Nor have KAT and Russell. They've certainly been serviceable. Beasley gives them a third option and perimeter guy who's shown a (surprising) willingness to drive straight to the hoop. (I'm guessing Saunders has really focused on finding good shots from deep or the rim, as pretty much the entire team has focused on those two spots.) Beasley's shooting hasn't been elite, but it should improve.

    Defensively, they switch on all pick and rolls not including KAT or Naz Reid. (Watch for opposing teams to pick and roll with centers to negate that advantage and get some clean looks moving forward. They've done it already, but have missed more than they ought to on the perimeter.) It helps that Russell and Rubio are taller PGs who've shown they're fine switching when they need to. Okogie's been picking up three-quarters court when he's in the game. And he's playing hard. If he could shoot, he'd be an All-Star.

    If Culver's leap forward is real,
    I am impressed with your analysis, which reflects good observations. I agree with you that I think Culver is ready for a move to the starting 5. That still leaves Rubio and Antman on the second unit.
    Twolves had a nice win over Utah in SLC last night. They led from the middle of 1st quarter all the way through with Utah only getting as close as -3. They had 68 point first half against a good defensive team.
    Their Young wings (Culver, Edwards- shooting 13-19) outplayed Bogdanovic and DMitch, who shot 9-39. They ran Utah off the 3 pt line and forced them to drive agressively and make tough shots, which they didn’t do.
    Even though Utah lost, I was impresssed. They play smart and very physically. You have to make tough shots up and down your team to beat them. Clarkson and Gobert had the strongest performances.
    I love the new Utah city edition uniforms. Looks like early 80s Astros color bands, combined with black, not white.
    Last edited by Betterread; 12-27-2020 at 03:33 PM.

  7. #20
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    I watched the fourth quarter of Houston v Portland and saw a very entertaining game that Portland won.
    Neither team could stop the other and CJ and Harden were unstoppable. And Dame had a last minute layup that he scooped under and around Wood after he drove through two guys to get to the rim. One of the most skillful finishes I have seen in a while.
    A great example of why I love good basketball.

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  9. #21
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    One observation that's clear:

    The entire league is suffering from not having had training camps.

    Every team admits that you can't improve without practices and you can't get practices in during this kind of schedule they have. It may take until February or March before we start seeing some decent basketball.

    Right now, every game is nothing better than streetball.
    "One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."

  10. #22
    Thanks a lot, Bowie Kuhn Revering4Blue's Avatar
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bourgeois Zee View Post
    1. I'd argue Brooklyn, Toronto, Minnesota, Indiana, San Antonio, and Dallas are all equally as fun or moreso.

    2. Nope. Not until he plays even a little defense.

    3. Nope. Doncic is an All-Star MVP level guy. Trae Young scores a lot of points and passes okay.
    1) Who would have lumped San Antonio into this conversation before the season began?

    2) I'm in the who cares camp about defense affecting Young's watchability. And he'll be able to gamble for steals once Capella and Okongwu are healthy to provide rim protection.

    3) Agreed. But this trade could eventually be argued to be a draw if, and only if, Cam Reddish develops into an all star. But given that most Dookies have failed to live up to their NBA potential, I wouldn't count on it.

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  11. #23
    Thanks a lot, Bowie Kuhn Revering4Blue's Avatar
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kingspoint View Post
    One observation that's clear:

    The entire league is suffering from not having had training camps.

    Every team admits that you can't improve without practices and you can't get practices in during this kind of schedule they have. It may take until February or March before we start seeing some decent basketball.

    Right now, every game is nothing better than streetball.
    Sam Mitchell made an interesting point on NBA TV about the lack of training camps affecting team defense. He stated that, even though it doesn't seem to make sense to the average fan, offenses are almost always considerably ahead of defenses once camp begins.

    But given the pace of games has risen for many teams, especially teams with new coaches like Indiana, the lack of defense is vastly overstated at times.

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    Last edited by Revering4Blue; 12-27-2020 at 03:53 PM.
    Whatever you do, do your best to not allow the struggles of life to interfere with the pleasures of living.

  12. #24
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    The Mavs can't really be up 62-18 on the Clippers, can they?

  13. #25
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    Quote Originally Posted by Boston Red View Post
    The Mavs can't really be up 62-18 on the Clippers, can they?
    Yah, they are. Weird to see a score that's generally reserved for playing NBA 2K against your five year old nephew after he opens his PS5 Christmas Morning.

    Of course, I mean the "18" would be my score. Five year old kids are a nightmare with a controller in their hands...
    "The problem with strikeouts isn't that they hurt your team, it's that they hurt your feelings..." --Rob Neyer

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  15. #26
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    Quote Originally Posted by Revering4Blue View Post
    Sam Mitchell made an interesting point on NBA TV about the lack of training camps affecting team defense. He stated that, even though it doesn't seem to make sense to the average fan, offenses are almost always considerably ahead of defenses once camp begins.

    But given the pace of games has risen for many teams, especially teams with new coaches like Indiana, the lack of defense is vastly overstated at times.

    Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk
    Just like the NFL's rule changes (along with free agency causing player movement), the NBA's rule changes create a faster pace, less physical play and more "scoring" highlights, I find the quality of play suffers greatly as each decade passes. The poetry of units mentally in sync, whether that's Defensively in the NBA, Offensively in the NFL (with the Offensive Line), cannot be replicated with anything other than practice and time together. It was bad enough when it was reduced to two to three years of playing together instead of five to eight years of playing together, but then it was reduced to one year in the NBA and two years in the NFL. Now it's not just a year or six months, but not even weeks. It's days, and it's really ugly to watch in both leagues. Streetball is more fun to watch and has more symmetry, while certainly having as many "scoring" highlights. It's truly identical to streetball...guys standing on the outside who play no Defense who yell "I'm open", and then flop when they miss a shot or scream that they got fouled (see the NBA's poster child in James IGotFouled! Harden).

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boston Red View Post
    The Mavs can't really be up 62-18 on the Clippers, can they?
    This is what I'm talking about.
    Last edited by Kingspoint; 12-27-2020 at 07:34 PM.
    "One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."

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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    Quote Originally Posted by adkindo View Post
    - Are the Hawks the most fun team to watch in the NBA?
    - Is Trae Young the most fun player in the NBA to watch?
    - Do we ever get to a point where we consider the Hawks the winner of the Doncic/Young trade?
    Why can't both teams win out on the trade...Doncic to me is a generational talent however I think Young is going to be great in his own right...I give a slight edge to Luka at this point based on his overall game.
    If you have a losing record at Reds games, please stop going.

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  18. #28
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    I hate the 3-point line. Worst rule ever made.
    "One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."

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  20. #29
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    That just sucks for Towns. MIN fans deserve so much better.

    They weren't going to make the playoffs this year anyway, so it does offer them a great opportunity to use those minutes developing support for KAT and then implement it during the 2nd Half.
    "One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."

  21. #30
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    Re: NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

    Quote Originally Posted by Revering4Blue View Post
    Sam Mitchell made an interesting point on NBA TV about the lack of training camps affecting team defense. He stated that, even though it doesn't seem to make sense to the average fan, offenses are almost always considerably ahead of defenses once camp begins.

    But given the pace of games has risen for many teams, especially teams with new coaches like Indiana, the lack of defense is vastly overstated at times.

    Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk
    Yeah, I heard him say that as he was talking about Portland's additions will show their value during the 2nd half of the season. Following this same logic, the Lakers should be much better this year having had more time together in that system with the key players gaining experience together in it. It's one reason MIA is always good. DEF never changes for them there under Spoelstra. Same goes with BOS and you can say the same goes for UTA and GSW (except they need to stop exchanging bodies for one season).
    "One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."


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