Everything 2017 Off-Season

[Shaolin Fantastic]

Whatever he gives you on offensive end he gives up on defensive end.

- His oRPM is almost double the magnitude of his dRPM.
- He has a +5.1 netRTG

Wrong.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

So does Demar. Neither are superstar players, but both manage to contribute to winning with the right players around them anyway.

Not to mention it's not even fucking true. DeMar and Kyrie aren't giving up 27 and 25ppg a night defensively.

[LJ2]

It's going to be a really interesting experiment out in Boston. I think he'll probably end up as a positive.. he's older, more mature, and Boston is an older, more mature franchise (unlike Cleveland was before Lebron). But it really will be an experiment where we can only theorize what will happen.

For the Raps sake I hope it ends up badly. But there is as good a chance as any that it will work itself out. The biggest hurdle for Boston in my opinion is Kyrie's injury history. But we have the same problems with Lowry.

Kyrie's injury history and a seemingly poor defence. They still have assets that they can flip for another star player, but who knows when they will strike.

[MixxAOR]

- His oRPM is almost double the magnitude of his dRPM.
- He has a +5.1 netRTG

Wrong.

https://www.fanragsports.com/cavalie...ing-cavaliers/

Irving ranked in the 19th percentile of primary pick-and-roll defenders during the regular season, allowing opponents to score 44.9 percent of the time he was involved in a possession that finished with basketball’s most basic action. He’s been even worse in the playoffs. The five-time All-Star is being absolutely abused by Jeff Teague and the Pacers at the point of attack, existing in the third percentile of ball-screen defense and permitting scores on 57.1 percent of the occasions his man receives a pick.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...as-a-sidekick/

Aside from durability — Irving’s had his fair share of injuries, including a fractured kneecap in the NBA Finals two years ago — defense is chief among them. Opposing teams had no issue targeting Irving, who’s often flat-footed or a step slow in pick and rolls and in 1-on-1 scenarios, this past season.

He was one of 10 guards this past season to surrender 50 percent shooting or better from the floor in 1-on-1 situations.3 And while most point guards throughout the league are thought to be pretty weak defensively, Irving’s offense-defense balance is particularly lopsided. In NBA history, there have only been six player seasons in which a guard had a usage rate of 30 percent or more (meaning the percentage of a team’s plays that end with that player shooting or turning the ball over) while logging 1.5 defensive win shares or fewer.4 Two of those six campaigns belong to Irving, including this past season, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

[MixxAOR]

So does Demar. Neither are superstar players, but both manage to contribute to winning with the right players around them anyway.

yeah Lebron and Lowry

[planetmars]

Kyrie's injury history and a seemingly poor defence. They still have assets that they can flip for another star player, but who knows when they will strike.

IT is an arguably worse defender than Kyrie... and yet Boston still got the first seed in the East. They lost Crowder and Bradley but Hayward is no slouch. And Tatum looks to be solid even as a rookie. I don't see a championship team there unless they get an Anthony Davis level star to make up for Kyries defense. But they should still be pretty good. I have them ahead of the Raps at the end of the season.

[TrueTorontoFan]

IT is an arguably worse defender than Kyrie... and yet Boston still got the first seed in the East. They lost Crowder and Bradley but Hayward is no slouch. And Tatum looks to be solid even as a rookie. I don't see a championship team there unless they get an Anthony Davis level star to make up for Kyries defense. But they should still be pretty good. I have them ahead of the Raps at the end of the season.

Bradley and Crowder are the biggest issues. They also lost a lot of their bench and weren't able sign any rim protector... There rebounding and defence will be their downfall and weakness this season.

[planetmars]

Bradley and Crowder are the biggest issues. They also lost a lot of their bench and weren't able sign any rim protector... There rebounding and defence will be their downfall and weakness this season.

I'm not trying to be an anti-Rap fan by saying I think Boston will be better. I am worried about the Raps defense too. Tucker re-energized this team and he's gone. 2Pat was really good defensively as well and he's gone. CoJo was our primary backup PG all season and was especially reliable when Lowry was out. He's gone. And I would have preferred more 3pt shooting off the bench which we'll struggle with a bit I think.

So Raps are not as good either in my opinion (although a full season of Ibaka is a plus, as well as no Carroll). The Celtics rebounding will be a huge issue.. more so than their defense. But they some how managed last year too.. and their rebounding was awful last year as well. Celts are also in an easier position to make an in season trade to improve rebounding or interior defense. Raptors do not.

If the Raps played the Celtics H2H I like the Raps chances a lot.. actually it would be a playoff matchup I'd prefer. But after 82 games I think Boston will have a better overall record.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

I'm not trying to be an anti-Rap fan by saying I think Boston will be better. I am worried about the Raps defense too. Tucker re-energized this team and he's gone. 2Pat was really good defensively as well and he's gone. CoJo was our primary backup PG all season and was especially reliable when Lowry was out. He's gone. And I would have preferred more 3pt shooting off the bench which we'll struggle with a bit I think.

So Raps are not as good either in my opinion (although a full season of Ibaka is a plus, as well as no Carroll). The Celtics rebounding will be a huge issue.. more so than their defense. But they some how managed last year too.. and their rebounding was awful last year as well. Celts are also in an easier position to make an in season trade to improve rebounding or interior defense. Raptors do not.

If the Raps played the Celtics H2H I like the Raps chances a lot.. actually it would be a playoff matchup I'd prefer. But after 82 games I think Boston will have a better overall record.

Good to see there's at least someone else who acknowledges Boston are a real threat to our candidacy as the #1 challenger to Cleveland out East. I really like the bolded point too. They have the assets to address issues with their team at the deadline to get better while we do not as we've given them away to dump salary.

[DanH]

Good to see there's at least someone else who acknowledges Boston are a real threat to our candidacy as the #1 challenger to Cleveland out East. I really like the bolded point too. They have the assets to address issues with their team at the deadline to get better while we do not as we've given them away to dump salary.

They definitely have more trade assets. And if they use them right (they have yet to do so), then maybe I'll consider them better than the Raptors. But until they do, it's irrelevant to the discussion of how the teams project as currently constructed.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

They definitely have more trade assets. And if they use them right (they have yet to do so), then maybe I'll consider them better than the Raptors. But until they do, it's irrelevant to the discussion of how the teams project as currently constructed.

They're very close to us right now, hard to say who's better until we see some games. Might be irrelevant to those very specific bounds of "currently constructed" but it's not irrelevant to a projection of the season and the playoffs and that's what matters.

[DanH]

They're very close to us right now, hard to say who's better until we see some games. Might be irrelevant to those very specific bounds of "currently constructed" but it's not irrelevant to a projection of the season and the playoffs and that's what matters.

It's kind of irrelevant to the playoffs, until they actually do something. It's no guarantee they will, or are even likely to attempt anything. They've had piles of assets for years now and have made... what, one major trade? Irving, and that's it?

As for very close - I fully expect they have a real shot to win more regular season games, but in a playoff series, I would not expect much competition from them.

[LJ2]

IT is an arguably worse defender than Kyrie... and yet Boston still got the first seed in the East. They lost Crowder and Bradley but Hayward is no slouch. And Tatum looks to be solid even as a rookie. I don't see a championship team there unless they get an Anthony Davis level star to make up for Kyries defense. But they should still be pretty good. I have them ahead of the Raps at the end of the season.

Not really seeing what you're seeing with regards to their defence. They lost IT and gained Kyrie which in itself may make their defence slightly better, but then lost Bradley, Crawford, Amir, and Olynik. They are relying on Horford to anchor their D, but his numbers have been declining for a few years now. A lot to ask for from Tatum in his rookie season if you ask me.

They aren't a championship team which is why I mentioned they have some assets to make a move, but no saying when they make the move. For all we know PG or LeBron could be a Celtic this time next year.

[tDotted]

The Celtic stroking on here makes me want to hurl. Can't wait until it's February and they're fighting for 5th seed.

[planetmars]

It's not so much the Celtics.. its the Raptors that I'm a little worried about. Casey's still here but now without Tucker who really saved our asses after that trade was made.

The Raptors started off like gang busters last year and had one of the best offenses ever.. but then everything was falling apart until the trade happened. We won't get lucky with any in season trade this year so we have to hope to hell the team can survive if something bad happens. The best thing going for the Raptors again is continuity.. that's something the Celtics won't have.. but the schedule looks tough early on so we'll see what happens.

Hoping for the best but expecting some hard/tough times this year.