Lets Talk Basketball

09/04/2023

10/20/2022

Paolo Banchero is one f the most well rounded rookies I’ve seen in a long time. He has size, strength, skills, and the mentality to be great. But the thing that impresses me the most is his IQ and decision making. Rarely do I see him make bone headed plays, he never tries too hard, and always makes the smart decisions, even if the outcome isn’t good. Only thing I think needs work with Paolo is range on his jumper, other than that there’s no spot on the floor where he’s not comfortable and effective from. With him and Franz, the Magic have their building blocks of the future.

06/02/2022

There are a ton of intriguing matchups and players in the Boston Celtics v Golden State Warriors Finals. But the main X Factors I see in this series are Grant Williams for Boston, and Jordan Poole for Golden State.
Grant Williams gives the Celtics versatility to go “small” because of his size/strength and ability to rebound. If he’s making shots and defending he’s similar to Boris Draw in that aspect. He allows you to play 5 out, opening up even more space for JT and JB.
Jordan Poole is a flat out bucket.. With all the attention Steph and Klay will be getting, I think Poole’s ability to play in the isolation will ease that pressure and allow the Warriors to not go on lulls where they don’t score the basketball. This won’t be like 2015/2016 where if Steph is neutralized, the Warriors offense doesn’t flow, with Poole in a zone it can always flow.
Who do yall see as the X Factors to this series? Who yall got?

tate

05/14/2022

This is what playoff basketball is about man. Two guys trying to will their teams to a win.
Tatum’s shotmaking ability and Giannis’ sheer power and dominance were in full effect. This is a game where Middleton presence was missed tho. Bucks needed that shot creator from the perimeter to dance with Tatum. Interested in seeing both coaches rotations and how they prioritize in terms of scoring vs defense.
Can’t wait for game 7 on Sunday.

03/14/2022

A lot of people look at the Lakers’ season as a lost cause. The blame game is being played. One day it’s Russ, next day it’s the front office, etc. While I agree that their roster instruction and balance was suboptimal, and Russ hasn’t lived up to expectations, I see a simple tweak that could lead them to be a much better team.
They have to stagger Bron and Russ the same way the 18 Rockets staggered CP and Harden. We all know
Russ and Bron are both ball dominant, but the real reason this needs to happen is pace. Bron historically likes to play a slow and methodical style while Russ is break neck. Right now you've got the older team trying to run the whole game. Staggering would allow Russ to run n gun while getting into a rhythm, scoring, playing downhill, driving and kicking, etc.. while Bron walks it up and plays a methodical brand of basketball. This will allow both guys to build their rhythm separately, sowhen the 4th quarter comes and the game is slower, Russ doesn't feel left out.
I think this is a path Vogel and his staff will have to look at if he wants to have any chance in the play in/playoffs once AD is back.

03/11/2022

I've been seeing a lot of talk about "eras" on all the sports shows. A lot of the older generation minimizing what the younger guys do.Personally I don't pay those conversations any mindbecause I know they aren't new.
Here's a video from1997 of Wilt Chamberlain speaking on how he'd do in that era. Sound familiar? Sounds verbatim to what Ihear about guys from the 80's and 90's playing today.
The thing is, previous generations will always try to dump on the generations that come after to make themselves seem larger than they really were. It's mainly due to their competitiveness, but also due to the fact that they don't want to be lost in history.
The facts are that every generation builds upon the foundations that were laid by the previous one. You don't get guys dribbling like Allen Iverson without guys like Tim Hardaway and Zeke, thus you wouldn't get
guys like Kyrie and Dame today. You don't get guys dunking like Jordan without David Thompson and Dr. J, thus you wouldn't get guys like Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon today. We as basketball heads have to stop
comparing eras and dumping on guys, we should enjoy the greatness that we are currently seeing and always remember the greatness from which it came from.

02/28/2022

Midrange ain’t dead, dudes just scared.
Demar is an MVP candidate off midrange work. The analytics people have taken analytics as a piece of a grand puzzle, to making it the end all be all in game planning.
It’s no coincidence that every championship team in recent memory has had at least one guy who has been able to dominate in the midrange.
Demar has been put into a system where he’s empowered and given confidence by the coaching staff to make plays and play freely. He isn’t being turned into a robotic basketball play who thinks whether a shot is “efficient statistically” before taking it.. He goes with the flow and rhythm that he’s been playing with since a young man and is now an MVP candidate. Salute to Coach Donovan and the whole Bulls organization for letting him be himself. I can’t wait to see him and Zach in the playoffs this year. If Lonzo, Caruso, and Patrick Williams are all healthy the Bulls have a great shot to represent the East in the Finals!

01/03/2022

“They” said Melo couldn’t be a catch and shoot player. What “they” fail to realize is that Melo was always an elite shooter, he just was always tasked to be a creator and take tough shots, instead of playing w/ a guy who’s probably the best ever at getting guys open threes. It’s not a coincidence that he’s not a 40% shooter on around 7 threes a game. Melo knows that Bron/Russ will get him the ball if he’s open, but they aren’t pigeonholing him as a spot up shooter only. He’s still getting his high/mid post touches to keep him engaged, so now when he catches and shoots, he’s in rhythm. He’s also allowed to isolate on the wings, keeping his confidence sky high. Never listen to “they”, you’ll forget the nuances of the game and fall into a wormhole of looking at spreadsheets and not game film. Carmelo Anthony has always been elite, but “they” robbed us of another year of his game.

01/02/2022

When people think about “athleticism” in terms of NBA players, they think about straight line speed and vertical explosion. While true, an unspoken about part of athleticism is acceleration and deceleration. The ability to go from a stop, to an explosive move, and back to a stop is what makes the elite shot makers and players that way. Fred VanVleet isn’t someone you would look at as an “elite athlete” but you can’t be 5’11 and get buckets like this with ought being one. He goes from 0 to 100, back to 0 so smoothly here and it allows him to create a ton of space to get his jumpers off. The strength you gotta have in your lower body and core to do this is crazy. Fred went from an undrafted free agent to a $100M man through hardwork in the weight room as well as on the court. He’s turned himself into an elite athlete and his skillset matches.

12/10/2021

I see a lot of hoopla about the Lakers and how their season is over, it’s not gonna work, they need to make trades, etc. While I agree that their roster instruction and balance was suboptimal, I see a simple tweak that could lead them to be a much better team.
They have to stagger Bron and Russ the same way the 18 Rockets staggered CP and Harden. We all know Russ and Bron are both ball dominant, but the real reason this needs to happen is pace. Bron historically likes to play a slow and methodical style while Russ is break neck. Right now you’ve got the older team trying to run the whole game. Staggering would allow Russ to run with the young guys like Monk, THT, etc. while Bron walks it up with Melo, Ellington, Ariza, etc. This will allow both guys to build their rhythm separately, so when the 4th quarter comes and the game is slower, Russ doesn’t feel left out.
I think this is a path Vogel and his staff will look at especially once K Nunn and Ariza are back and they have their full depth. To me the Lakers still have a great shot at being in the championship race because of their sheer talent, but a few tweaks need to happen.

11/17/2021

El Diablo
The ultimate “all around 3 level scorer” to be this efficient from the whole floor as a 7ft 2guard is a testament to nothing but his hard work. This is just too much polish. When he came into the league he was rail thin, shot in front of his face, couldn’t post, and was a finesse player. Now he hit the weight room and has strengthened his legs/core to the point where you can’t move him from his spot, raised his release point to above his head so his shot is unblockable, mastered the Dirk turnaround fadeaway, and can physically move guys around. All his weaknesses have become strengths. The Best Player in Basketball.

10/18/2021

Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. are about to be an electric duo that gives out buckets. Both of these guys are super athletic, creative, skilled, and have the mentality of scorers. The Rockets will take time to be great and still have plenty of holes to patch up, but right now they will be as exciting of a team as there is in our league. With these two, KJ Martin, and Christian Wood you will see a bunch of amazing highlights. Coach Silas is also a young coach who will continue to grow alongside his players.