#PlayoffDRob
5 Likes
1 Like
Duncan Robinson now holds the Heat record in:
- All-time regular season threes made
- All-time playoffs threes made
- Single-season threes made
- Single-playoffs threes made
- Single-game threes made (regular season)
- Single-game threes made (playoffs)
19 Likes
So Iāll admit I was waiting to do this after the conference finals when the Heat inevitably lost and I could do all 3 guys at once, but that doesnāt seem to be happening, so here we go:
The narrative in the Cavsā loss to the Knicks was that the ā5th Starterā role killed the team - the Knicks didnāt guard the guy (this is true), and that junked the offense (Mitchell not being very good and Mobley refusing to shoot played roles too!). Soā¦Caris Levert IS that ā5th guyā, butā¦he played fine? Caris played 34 minutes, scored 15 a game, and had 2.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds. He shot 51% from 2 (meh) and 36% from 3 (totally fine) on 7 attempts - like 180% of his regular season volume. Soā¦he was taking the shots they gave him (they REALLY gave them to him) and making a totally fine (not greatā¦fine) percetage. So what gives? I think what this team needs offensivley from that role is a three point sniper, and Caris was acquired to be an on-ball guy when Darius Garland went down two years - in other words, this isnāt what they acquired him for, and itās not what heās best at. He didnāt do poorly, but I think he operated at about as high a level as he could within that role, and it wasnāt enoughā¦because heās ill-suited for this role - he should be running bench mobs with the ball in his hand, not shooting catch and shoot threes. I assume theyāre going to investigate other options at that spot during the off-season, and weāll see Caris either somewhere else, or in a reduced role.
Jordan Poole had a pretty disastrous second round, and consequently a post-season that has the world questioning his contract, his place on these Warriors, etc. So lets start with why Iām saying this was disastrous:
-
If youāve read my stuff this year, youāll recall he struggled with his efficiency this year - to summarize a ton into two stats: His true shooting fell twenty points, and his assist/to ratio fell from close to 2:1 to under 1.5:1. Wellā¦it got worse. Poole shot 34% from the floor in both series, and 25% from three. His FT% even fell from close to 90% to 75% in both series. These are all small samples, but this was a guy struggling with confidence. I canāt stastically quantify his defense, but I can tell you he was probably the most out-of-his-element defensive player Iāve seen in these playoffs. Simply, he doesnāt know what heās doing, his effort stinks, and his waning confidence makes it all spiral. You could see his teammates visible discontent with his play on this end.
-
Kerrās evident (lack of) confidence in him. He got 12 fewer minutes a game in the playoffs than in the regular season, and it likely would have been less had all the other options on hand for the Warriors ALSO failed. This was a team DESPERATELY searching for anyone other than Steph to score, and Poole is a natural option thereā¦and he couldnāt survive OFFENSIVELY, much less defensively.
-
The declining opinion of his āplayer typeā. In these playoffs, weāve seen the Heat thrive without Tyler Herro, weāve seen Poole reinact the cover of the first Rage Against The Machine record (Iām old), and just finished a regular season in which Anfernee Simonsā absurd offensive efficiency drove routinely losing lineups. In short - there is increasing skepticism that the on-ball scorer who is only ok (or worse) passing, and is a serious defensive negative just isnāt worth very much (haha but Poole got his contract).
At this juncture, Iād be shocked to see him back in Golden State - the team doesnāt like him, and I think the feeling is mutual (without getting into the Draymond thing, thatās totally justified on Pooleās part). This seems like a situation where everyone is better off going their own way, but Pooleās position as a winning basketball player is currently pretty absent.
So speaking of Tyler Herroās injury, itās meant that Duncan Robinson has come back into the Heat rotation. Heās obviously the same guy - his value is tied to his shooting, and I think sometimes his shooting has made Spo play him a bit more sometimes than justified. But look - heās making shots - 45% of his threes - in his 17 mpg. Iām not sure this changes much for him long term (heās going to need to show he can make shots over a longer period of time), and heās still behind a more complete player in Max Strus (not as good a shooter in theory, but can play defense)ā¦and obviously overpaid on a team that could really use that salary on a larger cog. But this is obviously a great story, ant not everything needs to be about the future. Heās playing well right now, in a small but real role on a team that will likely be playing in the finals. Thatās pretty cool!
11 Likes
9 Likes
Two Warriorsā beat guys believe this Kerr comment on Draymondās podcast is about Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga:
āNone of those guys on Miami are sitting there saying, āWell, I didnāt play,ā or āMan, they put in so-and-so.ā Theyāre just all about winning. And you know this from our groups that weāve had. When you have that championship mentality, every guy is bought in. Every guy is just trying to win. Nobody cares about any of that stuff. You donāt go in the locker room saying, āWell, I should have played more.ā You just want to win. And thatās the beauty of finding that magic when you have a championship team, is that everybody is bought in, and it makes the decisions for the coach really simple. You just go with your gut and go with whoeverās playing well.ā
3 Likes
Frankly, if my teammate punched me on camera and the coach only gave him a slap on the wrist, Iām not sure if Iād still buy in to what the coach was selling, either.
19 Likes
Yeah, I said in my recap post earlier - this seems like a relationship everyone needs to end
1 Like
You imagine how draining it must have been for Poole to come in every day, listen to this grinning f&ck with a history of throwing every young player under the bus talk about accountability and solidarity, and pretend he didnāt publicly enable physical abuse?
Kerr is such an @sshole.
2 Likes
I despise Steve Kerr. I hate his guts
1 Like
Wowā¦I didnāt know there was an anti-Kerr contingent out there.
I donāt like Draymond and didnāt like how things played outā¦but the one coach could relate to it is Kerr, who got punched by Jordan and came back to be a role player on that championship team.
I like Poole ā¦ But I donāt get the impression heās the easiest guy to coach.
5 Likes
I like Steve Kerr but I donāt agree with his approach this season.
Of course, i donāt know whatās been going on behind the scenes.
1 Like
Obviously Draymond Green is wrong in that situation
And anyone who defended him is also wrong
But I think the handling of it suggests some people there didnāt care for Poole
Not that this justifies anything that occurred
But I donāt think Draymond cold cocks his best buddy
2 Likes
Jordan Poole was a key piece for a championship team
5 Likes
Indeed he was
I think itās easier to be a key piece at $3 million than $20+ if that makes any sense
I mean itās ok to sort of not be able to play in the final two rounds at $3 mil
Less so at starter+ money
From a practical stand point yes but thatās not his fault heās got overpaid. Also the contract doesnāt kick in til next yearā¦ which yikes. What a parting gift from Bob Myers
2 Likes
I donāt have a strong opinion on Kerr overall but I donāt think he handled this well. This is very different than the Jordan/Kerr situation. Jordan was the GOAT and untouchable, while Kerr was an expendable guy off the bench. He had no choice but to shut up and take it. Green/Poole is a much closer power dynamic and Poole is important enough to not alienate.
Thereās also the matter that, while the Jordan punch happened behind closed doors (iirc) the video of this one made the rounds, so it was impossible to sweep under the rug - and Poole probably has to deal with social media trolls (not to mention the regular media) badgering him about it.
The obvious thing imo was to suspend Green for the first few games of the season to put the issue to rest. Even if Poole isnāt the greatest teammate, his coach should defend him when heās punched. Besides, given Greenās history of pulling dirty crap, his coach shouldnāt treat him with kid gloves.
Kerr seemed to prioritize winning a few games in November over the long term locker room atmosphere, which was an odd choice.
6 Likes
I heard an interview with Steve Kerr after the season where he said the chemistry on the team was not the same this whole season after that event. Itās very possible that he wished he handled the situation differently.
1 Like
Side note and I know this isnāt your point but I hate how often this is pointed to as a good, cool thing that happened just because MJ is a legend.
7 Likes
Totally agree. I actually hate MJ and have since I grew up a Pistons fan in the late 80s and early 90s. I respect that he was one of the best of all time and possibly the best. But heās a huge jerk, terrible teammate, and overall thought he got a lot of cushy coverage given how great he is.
6 Likes