Everything Off Season

[saints91]

First us to be a contender, OG has to grow his game to be able to create his own shot. If he takes a leap this year we'll be very competitive.

I suspect Pascal gets back to where he was.

[Puffer]

First us to be a contender, OG has to grow his game to be able to create his own shot. If he takes a leap this year we'll be very competitive.

I suspect Pascal gets back to where he was.

I suspect he gets to beyond where he was. He had trouble with the pressure of being the prime target for other teams best defenders. I believe it shook him and messed with his confidence. He has had time to digest it and will approach this year's regular season like a tune-up for the playoffs. He will be working on solutions to last season's playoff problems every game. And I am certain he will solve a lot of them.

[inthepaint]

I suspect he gets to beyond where he was. He had trouble with the pressure of being the prime target for other teams best defenders. I believe it shook him and messed with his confidence. He has had time to digest it and will approach this year's regular season like a tune-up for the playoffs. He will be working on solutions to last season's playoff problems every game. And I am certain he will solve a lot of them.

I feel there's a good chance what you described will happen. I also think that after watching last playoffs tape from a birds eye view , they will realize a lot of the actions he was involved in last are just not Pascal's natural game. He thrives in transition, ball movement, spot up corner 3's, and drives where the paint is not fully packed (due to the opposing D being contorted from prior pick and rolls and ball movement involving other players). If he gets his natural game, he will have fun out there again (which is very important for him personally).

I hope we never see the hero ball, ISO forced shots against set defences again. He's not Kawhi, and he doesn't have to be. I feel that coaches (particularly now with Finch) will find a way to structure our offence in a way that Pascal can thrive in his natural game, while still having him as the primary option. He also needs to be directly involved in pick and rolls, either as a ballhandler, popper on roller. That would be deadly with Lowry, but now with no centre at the high post, it would also work with Baynes. You run that with 2 of Fred/OG/Thomas/Norm in the corner 3 spot, the floor is so wide there'd be tons of open, quality shots. If it's just him 1-on-1 vs the Adebayos and Jalen Brown's of the world, we're stalling.

[DogeLover1234]

I feel there's a good chance what you described will happen. I also think that after watching last playoffs tape from a birds eye view , they will realize a lot of the actions he was involved in last are just not Pascal's natural game. He thrives in transition, ball movement, spot up corner 3's, and drives where the paint is not fully packed (due to the opposing D being contorted from prior pick and rolls and ball movement involving other players). If he gets his natural game, he will have fun out there again (which is very important for him personally).

I hope we never see the hero ball, ISO forced shots against set defences again. He's not Kawhi, and he doesn't have to be. I feel that coaches (particularly now with Finch) will find a way to structure our offence in a way that Pascal can thrive in his natural game, while still having him as the primary option. He also needs to be directly involved in pick and rolls, either as a ballhandler, popper on roller. That would be deadly with Lowry, but now with no centre at the high post, it would also work with Baynes. You run that with 2 of Fred/OG/Thomas/Norm in the corner 3 spot, the floor is so wide there'd be tons of open, quality shots. If it's just him 1-on-1 vs the Adebayos and Jalen Brown's of the world, we're stalling.

It was pretty cool hearing Finch say his ideal offense is highly unpredictable and able to consistently play different styles. We can clean up some stuff, but without a dynamic offensive player a highly unpredictable team offense with many different actions, a lot of misdirection, etc. would be a good substitute. Very similar to how Nurse and co were switching up defensive schemes by possession - its a good way for the sum to be greater than the parts. Just good coaching.

[A.I]

I suspect he gets to beyond where he was. He had trouble with the pressure of being the prime target for other teams best defenders. I believe it shook him and messed with his confidence. He has had time to digest it and will approach this year's regular season like a tune-up for the playoffs. He will be working on solutions to last season's playoff problems every game. And I am certain he will solve a lot of them.

Playing in an arena will help too. I don't think some players handled the bubble situation well from a mental standpoint. I think Pascal was one of them. He seemed off in everything he did, including stuff he is good at. It didn't start from the Playoffs either, it started from game 1 in the bubble.

[S.R.]

Pascal's clearly a pretty emotionally driven guy, and that whole experience was hard for him. Part of his development as a human being and as a professional will be to figure out how to produce more consistently and not have it hinge on how he's feeling. Easy to forget these guys are just in their 20s.

[The Great One]

We get NBA basketball this week. Let's Go!!

[Jclaw]

Let the march towards #1 begin

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ctic-offseason

[MixxAOR]

3 members of organization tested positive for covid. But all players were available for practice

[G__Deane]

Let the march towards #1 begin

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ctic-offseason

Nets 3rd overall in the NBA and Maimi 5th

[G__Deane]

The Milwaukee Bucks concluded their first team practice Sunday by singing "Happy Birthday" to back-to-back reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Teammates Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton thought of the perfect gift for the 26-year-old Antetokounmpo as he mulls over his decision on whether to sign a supermax extension to stay in Milwaukee for the long term.

"We definitely sung a 'Happy Birthday' after practice. Me and PC thought the perfect gift to him from our teammates is just to give him a pen," Middleton said. "So there were pens in his locker for his birthday present. I told him those should be some of the best birthday gifts he's ever gotten, so hopefully he enjoys it and uses it."

Antetokounmpo has until Dec. 21 to sign the extension, but he could agree to the same deal with the Bucks next summer if he does not test the market as an unrestricted free agent.

[S.R.]

Let the march towards #1 begin

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ctic-offseason

We could copy and paste the same comments here every pre-season. The Raptors, essentially a perennial 50+ win team in the current era, are annually pegged to drop a bunch of spots but never do. Philly and Boston's young guys are annually the East's Next Big Thing but Toronto's core is completely off the radar.

Fun fact! Between Ben Simmons, Pascal Siakam, and Jayson Tatum, 1 of those 3 guys last season made: All-NBA 2nd team, EC ASG starter, and top 10 MVP votes - while the other two finished behind him in all 3 of those awards. That guy is also the only one of the three who doesn't even get named in his team's pre-season write up in that ESPN article. Guess which one? It's downright laughable.

Raptors ranked one spot ahead of Portland - a 35 win team last year that got bounced in 5 in the first round. Sounds about right for NBA pre-season predictions season.

I got questions about the Nets. I think they'd finish 3rd or 4th at the top end but have a very high probability of a tumultuous, underachieving season bogged down by injury issues, locker room issues, and the fact that they're building with two ageing, injury prone stars.

Also, Boston's lost depth. Hayward was a huge piece and Kemba's injuries are still nagging him. I would not be surprised at all to see them lose a step vs last year. Philly should be a bit better than last year. Russ will help Washington compete. Nets are a crapshoot as mentioned. Miami is nice but people are a bit too high on them now - they had a nice run in a weird bubble environment but were one of the weakest Finals teams in years. Milwaukee is solid and should be at the top again - but are really unchanged in the most important ways and will hit a wall in the playoffs again imho.

Prediction - there will be a fair bit of parity at the top of the East hitting the playoffs again this year and it really, really sucks that Kawhi didn't re-sign in Toronto. These are two of the best years to compete for a ring. With all the 3-4 superstar contenders we've had the past 10 years, these two seasons have been years without that unquestionably dominant team in the mix (though LAL are a step up this year over last year, they're better).

[The Great One]

Let the march towards #1 begin

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ctic-offseason

How are the Nets so high on that list?

KD doesn't have Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on his team anymore. The Nets other star is Kyrie Irving lol. People will soon realize that he's no LeBron James or even close to LeBron's level.

[planetmars]

So Harden has yet to join a team practice and has been caught hanging out at strip clubs the past couple of nights. So the Rockets are going to be a complete gong show this year.

[Kagemusha]

We could copy and paste the same comments here every pre-season. The Raptors, essentially a perennial 50+ win team in the current era, are annually pegged to drop a bunch of spots but never do. Philly and Boston's young guys are annually the East's Next Big Thing but Toronto's core is completely off the radar.

Fun fact! Between Ben Simmons, Pascal Siakam, and Jayson Tatum, 1 of those 3 guys last season made: All-NBA 2nd team, EC ASG starter, and top 10 MVP votes - while the other two finished behind him in all 3 of those awards. That guy is also the only one of the three who doesn't even get named in his team's pre-season write up in that ESPN article. Guess which one? It's downright laughable.

Raptors ranked one spot ahead of Portland - a 35 win team last year that got bounced in 5 in the first round. Sounds about right for NBA pre-season predictions season.

I got questions about the Nets. I think they'd finish 3rd or 4th at the top end but have a very high probability of a tumultuous, underachieving season bogged down by injury issues, locker room issues, and the fact that they're building with two ageing, injury prone stars.

Also, Boston's lost depth. Hayward was a huge piece and Kemba's injuries are still nagging him. I would not be surprised at all to see them lose a step vs last year. Philly should be a bit better than last year. Russ will help Washington compete. Nets are a crapshoot as mentioned. Miami is nice but people are a bit too high on them now - they had a nice run in a weird bubble environment but were one of the weakest Finals teams in years. Milwaukee is solid and should be at the top again - but are really unchanged in the most important ways and will hit a wall in the playoffs again imho.

Prediction - there will be a fair bit of parity at the top of the East hitting the playoffs again this year and it really, really sucks that Kawhi didn't re-sign in Toronto. These are two of the best years to compete for a ring. With all the 3-4 superstar contenders we've had the past 10 years, these two seasons have been years without that unquestionably dominant team in the mix (though LAL are a step up this year over last year, they're better).

Yeah, l think this 2020 roster is even stronger than the 2017 team that won 59 games under Casey.