The announcer’s “kaboom” is so cringeworthy. In any case, so excited for Duncan to get $$$.
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I don’t know if Wilson is an NBA caliber player or not but it’s amazing how “theoretical” all his assets are going into his fourth year. Just due to the teams they got sent to, Wilson ended last year with 80 more minutes played n his career than Jordan Poole did, despite Poole having spent two fewer years in the league, and like 1/4 of his only year in the G League.
Wilson may stink and obviously the coaches see him a bunch but it’s striking how little a chance he’s had to show anything one way or another.
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Probably not playable next to Giannis and definitely not playable OVER Giannis.
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Bud is notoriously a coach who finds minutes for his bench guys too, often to the team’s detriment come playoff time.
Yeah, his main obstacle to PT this year was Ilyasova - Giannis plays remarkably few minutes for a star (around 30 a game).
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The Heat were a clear competitor in the potential Giannis sweepstakes, and a recent slate of extensions has dried what was previously considered a loaded free-agent class. The Heat have already extended Adebayo. Robinson is their next major decision. Miami can match any offer. Just how high that price tag will be is another story. Robinson will likely earn more than Joe Harris’ $75 million. It’s possible Robinson earns upwards of $90 million. Miami has chased impact pieces in free agency and trades for much of the last decade. Perhaps its next championship is delivered through its home-grown core. Looking at the league’s current landscape, extending Adebayo and paying Robinson may be the best route.
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Duncan…super quick release, feet set, square to the hoop. Maybe one of the shooters of all times!
A thorough recap through week 1:
Spender Dinwiddie tore his ACL, so I assume we’ll see Caris Levert return to the starting lineup and his minutes tick back up to over 30. Like much of his career, he’s struggled so far to score efficiently. A lot of that seems to be tied to struggling on 2’s and a lack of FT attempts so far. His assist rate is up a fair amount, but that’s largely because he was THE GUY on their bench lineups, and with Dinwiddie gone, I imagine he’ll play with the ball less (but with the starters).
Ignas is on the Knicks roster, but out of the rotation - he picked up 1 garbage minute so far.
Poole is in the rotation, but the results are similar to last year…which is quite bad. Mychael Mulder canned 3 threes the other day, so Poole’s rotation slot may be in jeopardy. The Warriors have been far worse than expected (not Poole’s fault - largely actually due to Steph), so maybe there will be some developmental minutes handed out.
As has been noted in this thread, Duncan Robinson, like Poole, is picking up where he left off…unlike Poole that’s a very good thing. He’s done nothing to convince anyone he’s anything but the best catch & shooter in the league.
After a somewhat surprising and effective offensive season last year, Mo Wagner appears to be out of the Wizards rotations to start. The addition of Robin Lopez has shifted him to the perma-bench for now. That said, the Wizards are trying to win, and are 0-3. Robin Lopez lineups are unplayable offensively so far (87 ortg with him on the floor - not a shock, he’s a poor offensive player) and are actually worse defensively when he plays as well (they’re quite bad defensively both with or without him). Wagner showed he can play offense, so I think there’s some opportunity here if Lopez is unable to provide the value defensively that is his raison d’etre.
DJ Wilson is in the rotation in Milwaukee - it’s sort of tough to tell as they’ve played 2 entirely uncompetitive games out of 3, but he did get double digit minutes in their close game. He’s made 3 of his 5 threes, which is a good start but obviously hardly meaningful in the grand scheme. His rebounding - his best asset thus far in his career, has been improved. 2 blocks in 34 minutes is tasty too. Obviously, he still has lots to prove, but it looks as if he’ll get the chance to prove it, and so far so good on that front.
Glenn Robinson is in Sacramento’s rotation, and I don’t really see them having anyone to threaten his position there at the moment. He really hasn’t done much statistically - always a comically low-usage player even at Michigan, his usage sits at 10% right now.
Trey Burke seems to have the same role he did in the bubble as a microwave off the bench, and seems to be filling it just as well as he did then, shooting unsustainably well so far. His role is changing a bit - he played a bunch with Doncic before, but generally got a few minutes to be on-ball too. With Jalen Brunson back (he did not play in the bubble), Burke’s additional minutes are as an off-ball guy next to Brunson, who is also playing well. Because this is Rick Carlisle, there are also some three-point guard lineups with Doncic, Brunson, and Burke together. I’d expect his play-making to drop this year but he’s done well with what he’s been asked to do so far.
Hardaway is struggling inside the arc so far, but he’s largely been fine from there in his career so we’re a long way from ringing an alarm bell there. He’s still doing what he did to get his role - canning 38% of a high volume of threes. It’s hard to imagine a Michigan alum whose role is more written in stone than Tim - he’s there to space the floor for Luka, and as long as he bangs down a respectable number of threes, he’s going to keep doing it.
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Thanks MGL! You nailed it! I read today the MAV’s are considering separating Brunson and Trey to get better production, still tinkering with the lineup. Good luck to JP, he needs to find a remarkable skill set, he’s getting minutes but can’t seem to produce. He should get better as his body matures. Time will tell. Thanks
Lol - I’ll believe Carlisle is going to abandon a 2 tiny PG lineup when I see it.
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Poole is a little bit like Stauskas in that he needs to be, but is not yet, a consistent three point shooter, and his defense is weak.
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I realize that sometimes being realistic on Michigan alums in the pros isn’t popular here (and understand why) - but frankly there is not an aspect of basketball Poole plays at an NBA level right now.
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Agreed, they’re trying to find the right mix, but I think the MAV’s could be relevant, whatever that means.
I’ve seen a little of them. I think they’re possibly a top 4 seed in the west? That’s good. Honestly, their weakest lineup is the starters - Luka, Hardaway, Finney-Smith, Josh Richardson, Dwight Powell (or, at least the “Porzingis isn’t here” version of the starters). It’s not hard to see why, that group has 2 plus shooters. Carlisle is a great coach, my giggling about his affinity for playing multiple tiny PG’s aside, so he shouldn’t listen to me, but that group is begging for Kleber to play (though Kleber is Trey’s most common court partner and they’re +22 pp100 net when those two play together).
A shame if Poole can’t cut it, because physically he’s a prototype NBA rotation SG with all the tools required. Not a hyperathletic franchise scorer, but certainly the kind of guy who should stick around long enough to earn $100m and have fun doing it. Nobody but himself to blame if it doesn’t happen.
The irony is that his rationale for leaving here, if I recall, was that playing with Simpson meant he never got to play with the ball in his hands (because Simpson was largely not a threat unless he had the ball).
Now he’s in the NBA, he does not ever play with the ball in his hands, and he is just failing as a catch & shooter.
In one of the better uses of data to shut down nonsense in recent memory, here was Dylan’s contribution to that debate:
It is clear that Jordan Poole and his family felt Poole was underutilized in ball screens. In reality, he finished 13th in the Big Ten in ball screen usage — around other secondary creators like Romeo Langford and Ayo Dosunmu. Poole’s 6.4 ball screen plays per game weren’t far behind Nik Stauskas’ average of 7.7 plays per game in 2014 or Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman’s 7.1 per game as a senior.
I remember being so shocked to hear that Poole was almost at a Stauskas level of ballscreen usage, but there’s your numbers. I remember wondering if Poole’s dad wasn’t helping the situation here. I also remember losing to MSU three times thanks in large part to the defensive lapses he had multiple opportunities to address. Poole also had a huge and memorable shot in Michigan history and that highlight is pure joy, especially the extended version with the chase-and-dodge act. He didn’t have to be perfect for us to remember him fondly and hope for his success because he’s a part of the family. But, well, if this is how it plays out I guess that wouldn’t be a surprise.
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Yep, I recall he had an issue with standing in the corner and spreading the floor.
Thanks for sharing, I still can’t blame him for leaving, he walks away with $10M minimum. It’s up to him to get better and hone his trade. The kid has talent and we’ll see if he has the work ethic to improve.
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