Yea casey isn’t the problem, but someone has to be blamed. I guess… Really they need to blow it up. Get rid of Derozan or Lowry or both and start over with the quality bench/pieces they got and find new superstars to lead. Teams like the Raptors can win big in the regular season but have no shot when everyone is playing for keeps. Casey did what he could. No coach could bring them them much farther.
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Easier to get rid of a coach than a player on a long term contract. Especially when it would be obvious you’re the party reaching out and might not get as good of a return otherwise.
They never should have let Van Gundy be both coach and GM. That doesn’t work. Coaches live for the here and now while the GM has to plan for the future. Making a coach be the GM usually means making bad long-term trades.
Oh well, we’ll always have the “Form a f*cking WALL!” moment.
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Kennard pick was awful. I wanted Mitchell or Zach Collins from before the draft began, and when Donovan fell to us I thought it was a given - guy clearly just had a killer instinct every time I had watched him with louisville. I was indifferent about Stanley Johnson at the time but he’s turned out to be garbage. Didn’t like the Ellenson pick but I also hadn’t watched him play at all in college. Overall, awful draft record from Stan.
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More than a hot take - Insane. Kennard will be irrelevant his entire career.
That’s absurd.
If I were Casey, I’d consider a TV gig for a year rather than tie myself to the Pistons.
I find that hard to believe considering he was already relevant this year.
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Right? He’ll be a very solid to really good player for us. With his bball IQ and shot he’s going to be just fine.
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Yeah, the annoyance comes over who we missed out on. When looking at him in a vacuum Kennard will be a fine player.
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I guess my comment wasn’t the hottest take in the thread.
On Casey as coach, I’ve seen enough out there that says management thrust a new offensive philosophy on him this year. He seems like he’d bring more rigidity. I’d rather they go the way of a Dantoni type offensive mind who is looking to push boundaries.
I guess irrelevant has a wide interpretation. Poor choice of word. He had most of his production this year in end of the season garbage games without much competition at his position. I see his absolute ceiling as being a solid role player.
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I don’t think “solid role player” fits any of the possible interpretations of irrelevant.
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It’s likely silly to project Kennard’s future until we see the effects of the new coach and front office. It’s like the draft all over again. There are times when a player is drafted to the wrong team and you have to start worrying for the kid’s career before it even begins. Bad system fit, bad front office, glut (or even just someone with a big contract) at his position.
In Kennard’s case, rookies don’t tend to do well in seasons where the coach is fighting to keep his job.
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Who renamed the thread? Weak sauce.
Anywho I was telling people if I had to bet on a team I’d take the Celtics. I’m not saying the kings dine here , in fact I’m pretty confident he’ll even the series but the Celtics are. Much better team than the pacers and the pacers were a goaltend away from possibly winning that series.
I hate lue as a coach. Obviously he’s a figure head but honestly that’s not what Lebron or these kids need. If lebron let him coach blatt would have won at least 1 title if not two of the last three and he’d have them playing much better now.
Personally gainst these Celtics you gotta go younger and more athletic. As bad as hood has been he’s essential to them winning a title. Clarkson and nance too. Clarkson didn’t play at all! I was at work but was he hurt? Besides just this series the end game of beating the warriors ( who will beat the rockets in 5 , six at most) lebron needs all hands on deck. I think love will come through ( had nice numbers tonight) but then he needs those 3 plus hill to play big minutes.
Ckarkson could be a valuable scorer off the bench. If he was hurt then ok but if not he needs to play 20-25 a night. Hell give you 12 points or so in that time. If they have any chance of winning a title the guys they dealt for need to play and play big/ productive minutes.
Also but is it just me or is anyone size curious to just how good the Celtics would be with a healthy Irving and a healthy Hayward. MAybe they wouldn’t play as well with two guys being so ball and dominant? Usually it takes a team of new stars a year to blend before they break through ( unless youre an all star team like the warriors) so maybe the cs has no shot anyways but idk.
They’re a very very good team as is. I actually think they could possibly beat the rockets as assembled and if not it goes 7 but I really wonder if Hayward and Irving blend well and everyone’s healthy could they beat the warriors.
Depending on what lebron does and how Hayward looks when he comes back I think the cs might be ready to dethrone golden state. If I’m Stevens I sell Hayward as my manu ginobli and have him be my six man. You can’t bench brown or Taytum imo after what they’ve done this year. Personally I think both will be better than Hayward and soon. You could start all 3 and play brien or taytum at small ball 4 but I think Hayward’s punch off the bench ( still playing 26-30) would make the cs a nightmare
They have to let smart walk it looks like but a roster of Irving Brown taytum Morris horford or rozier at pg , Irving , brown, Taytum, horford
With a bench of Hayward, Morris, baynes
Clarkson is a gunner and nothing more. He flat out doesn’t defend and refuses to pass to teammates. You can probably can the same for JR Smith as well but he at least attempts to defend.
It’s a bad matchup for the Cavs. The Celtics don’t give the Cavs weaker defenders any chance to rest. Love, Korver, Smith, Clarkson, and most of all Jeff Green have been exposed consistently in the last two games. The Celtics do a great job attacking who ever the weak link on the Cavs is and attacking it, rather than play straight iso ball like the Rockets are trying to do with Curry.
Lebron can’t do it all. I’m not sure what else needs to be done. He had 42, 12, and 10 last night and Love had over 20. The rest of the team needs to step up in a big way. All of that being said, role players tend to play better at home. I still won’t count out the Cavs, strictly based off Lebron but it’s a real uphill battle.
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Good to Silver address the one and done issue. Hope NBA starts paying their D league players a decent salary, and let high schoolers go directly to the league. Lord knows there a better way to slice the pie
I don’t think Blatt would have won anymore titles with the Cavs than Lue has. Unless you get a coach that brings some real weight with his name and accomplishments or is clearly an Xs and Os genius, you’re going to be pretty much a figurehead as Lebron’s HC. There’s only a handful of names in the game that could do it IMO.
This current squad is especially horrible. I honestly think the Cavs should have just gambled and tried to keep Kyrie for one more season. They gambled on Isaiah Thomas’ hip and it did not work out. Even a disgruntled Kyrie would be better than Thomas IMO. And Lebron can’t do it all himself. Their current roster is the greatest player on earth and a bunch of role players. Love is reduced to that with a player like Lebron. Their only hope with this roster is to have Lebron play great, play solid defense as a team and hit their threes. I don’t see how they can beat any of the teams left unless they’re doing that every game.
Isn’t blatt considered a top x and o guy abroad? I thought I read he went back to Turkey and Was winning big again already
I actually am misremembering though so maybe not. I just read he got them to the 2015 finals and I thought he was fired halfway through his first year.