Heard on the radio that Norm walked out on his own last night. No boot, etc. Hopefully that bodes well.
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That did not look like an ankle sprain when I saw the hit last night. Looked more like an upper body injury with a side order of a concussion or something. So ankle is good news. But yet Serge was out for awhile with an ankle injury.
I wonder if it was Fred on the bench looking at the player of the week winners and putting a hex on Norm so he can get his starting spot back in the rotation. And his $20M+ contract next summer.
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Norm seems to have been relegated to a back seat on the roster. All of the speculation that he would be included in a trade package, and a poor showing in the bubble have almost eliminated memories of his regular season. He played 30% more minutes a game, career-best shooting %, career-best FG efficiency, career-best FT shooting, career-best rebounding, steals, assists and blocks, almost doubled his points per game and nobody is talking about him.
The thing that sticks out to me is how he cratered (along with Pascal, and Marc) in the playoff portion of the bubble. Does this speak to the mental part of the game? I mean can Norm and Pascal do something to get their heads right this time around? Will having gone through it once mean that they will do better this time? Norm seems to have an on/off switch. I think if somebody (Norm or the coaching staff) can figure out how to turn that switch on this season, it could be a big difference maker. Elite players all seem to have learned how to throw the switch. Can Norm take that step?
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Well we definitely need increased contributions from several players.....Siakamn, FVV certainly OG. Why not Norm, he has the ability to step up and surprise. He's mentioned so often in trade discussions because he's not the aforementioned three, fans know you don't get much for the scrubs on the team and he's on a reasonable deal. He has value.
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Contract year for Norm. I'm sure he's going to be used as the primary scorer off the bench, probably taking even more usage without Ibaka there. Should be able to put up some numbers for us.
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Wonder if management just hopes he'll drop his option, or do you think they trade him for cap space? He's not going to get as much back on the market since he's a potential free agent. But teams can trade for his bird rights.
Currently his opt in salary is a roadblock to the Giannis chase. But he's also valuable enough to keep for the year. Our bench scoring has dipped since Serge left and TD's status has become questionable for now.
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Puffer wrote: View PostNorm seems to have been relegated to a back seat on the roster. All of the speculation that he would be included in a trade package, and a poor showing in the bubble have almost eliminated memories of his regular season. He played 30% more minutes a game, career-best shooting %, career-best FG efficiency, career-best FT shooting, career-best rebounding, steals, assists and blocks, almost doubled his points per game and nobody is talking about him.
The thing that sticks out to me is how he cratered (along with Pascal, and Marc) in the playoff portion of the bubble. Does this speak to the mental part of the game? I mean can Norm and Pascal do something to get their heads right this time around? Will having gone through it once mean that they will do better this time? Norm seems to have an on/off switch. I think if somebody (Norm or the coaching staff) can figure out how to turn that switch on this season, it could be a big difference maker. Elite players all seem to have learned how to throw the switch. Can Norm take that step?
That said, Norm stepped in for Gasol in Game 6, stepped up and won that game for us in the 4th quarter and overtime. He also had a pretty good Game 7, except for the box-out, but he wasn't the only guy with miscues down the stretch (e.g. Pascal, FVV, etc...).
And, if playoffs means "Celtics series" (because the Nets weren't even an NBA team) you need to add FVV (ORTG=95, 3P= 31%, FG%=34%) to the Crater Brigade. Do you realize how bad an ORTG of 95 is? I mean, you conveniently leave out FVV, but did he actually win us any game? Or did he consistently shoot us out of the series with that stellar FG% and ORTG? That was basically the Celtics strategy, i.e., to dare FVV to beat them to the rim. I mean, when the opposition is encouraging a player on your team to score, that can't be a good thing. And FVV (or his ego) took the bait.... again and again.
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golden wrote: View Post
Just protect Norm by playing him more minutes along-side Lowry and Pascal, like FVV, and all problems are solved.
That said, Norm stepped in for Gasol in Game 6, stepped up and won that game for us in the 4th quarter and overtime. He also had a pretty good Game 7, except for the box-out, but he wasn't the only guy with miscues down the stretch (e.g. Pascal, FVV, etc...).
And, if playoffs means "Celtics series" (because the Nets weren't even an NBA team) you need to add FVV (ORTG=95, 3P= 31%, FG%=34%) to the Crater Brigade. Do you realize how bad an ORTG of 95 is? I mean, you conveniently leave out FVV, but did he actually win us any game? Or did he consistently shoot us out of the series with that stellar FG% and ORTG? That was basically the Celtics strategy, i.e., to dare FVV to beat them to the rim. I mean, when the opposition is encouraging a player on your team to score, that can't be a good thing. And FVV (or his ego) took the bait.... again and again.
His issues are more longer term trends that show his individual offence isn't as valuable as it appears given his impact on the team offence (it's decent though), while his defence is a weakness.
I agree more bench minutes should include one or more of the stars, that helps everyone.
But none of that is relevant to Norm's salary situation. He's absolutely going to opt out. Even with a step back season this year he showed enough last year to basically guarantee himself a long term MLE deal next summer, and with the cap room available an even half decent season this year would have him lined up for a lot more than that. The concerns with Norm were before last season - if he'd had another limited role season, there was a chance he would opt in. Now he's well established as a bench scoring option really as his floor so that's not really a concern anymore.
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DanH wrote: View Post...Now he's well established as a bench scoring option really as his floor so that's not really a concern anymore.
I'm trying to go down the list of players and figure out who might improve this year.
Lowry - hold steady, slight regression?
Siakim - improve with experience and embarrasment over bubble performance
OG - improve with experience
Fred - improve with experience and higher expectations and embarrasment over bubble performance
Norm - improve with experience and contract year incentive
Matt - improve with experience and Nurse using him better within the team framework
Aron - improved every year of his career to this point, so improve with better 3 pt shot and defensive system
Boucher - improve with experience and off season work
Alex Len - Improve with a better offensive and defensive system around him
Flynn - Contribute on a par with TD
Harris - boost bench scoring
Once I go through all the improved performances, no wonder I'm optimistic. :-)
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Puffer wrote: View Post
Well, a good season for him to step up. And getting himself a good longer term contract someplace is a great incentive to do excellent work. So maybe pencil Norm in as a plus on the bench who potentially could outperform his production last season.
I'm trying to go down the list of players and figure out who might improve this year.
Lowry - hold steady, slight regression?
Siakim - improve with experience and embarrasment over bubble performance
OG - improve with experience
Fred - improve with experience and higher expectations and embarrasment over bubble performance
Norm - improve with experience and contract year incentive
Matt - improve with experience and Nurse using him better within the team framework
Aron - improved every year of his career to this point, so improve with better 3 pt shot and defensive system
Boucher - improve with experience and off season work
Alex Len - Improve with a better offensive and defensive system around him
Flynn - Contribute on a par with TD
Harris - boost bench scoring
Once I go through all the improved performances, no wonder I'm optimistic. :-)
"We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard
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DanH wrote: View Post
I agree that Norm's issues are not really specific to last year's playoffs - if we're going to start judging our roster based on those bubble games then no one is really worth keeping. Most of it though was just a knock on effect from Pascal being completely absent offensively - when that high usage piece stops working the whole offence is a disaster.
His issues are more longer term trends that show his individual offence isn't as valuable as it appears given his impact on the team offence (it's decent though), while his defence is a weakness.
I agree more bench minutes should include one or more of the stars, that helps everyone.
But none of that is relevant to Norm's salary situation. He's absolutely going to opt out. Even with a step back season this year he showed enough last year to basically guarantee himself a long term MLE deal next summer, and with the cap room available an even half decent season this year would have him lined up for a lot more than that. The concerns with Norm were before last season - if he'd had another limited role season, there was a chance he would opt in. Now he's well established as a bench scoring option really as his floor so that's not really a concern anymore.
Starting lineup with FVV: net rating +12.8 (360 min)
Starting lineup with Norm: net rating +13.2 (110 min, which is a decent sample. 6th most used lineup last year)
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Puffer wrote: View Post
Well, a good season for him to step up. And getting himself a good longer term contract someplace is a great incentive to do excellent work. So maybe pencil Norm in as a plus on the bench who potentially could outperform his production last season.
I'm trying to go down the list of players and figure out who might improve this year.
Lowry - hold steady, slight regression?
Siakim - improve with experience and embarrasment over bubble performance
OG - improve with experience
Fred - improve with experience and higher expectations and embarrasment over bubble performance
Norm - improve with experience and contract year incentive
Matt - improve with experience and Nurse using him better within the team framework
Aron - improved every year of his career to this point, so improve with better 3 pt shot and defensive system
Boucher - improve with experience and off season work
Alex Len - Improve with a better offensive and defensive system around him
Flynn - Contribute on a par with TD
Harris - boost bench scoring
Once I go through all the improved performances, no wonder I'm optimistic. :-)
Makes sense
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The bubble performances were poor because our #1 option wasnt a #1 option. It all stemmed from pascals inability to generate efficient offence. Like Dan said. All the other top guys we still have are great players, but they need that almost unguardable guy to help open up the offence. Mentally, its huge, as those secondary guys can relax a bit more knowing they have a teammate that can carry them through the tough stretches scoring the ball. Pascal simply couldnt do that, and neither could anyone else, and we really shouldnt expect it. Its easy to get anxious and throw your shot off when you feel every shot you take has to go down because that truly dominant go to guy just isnt there. Hopefully Pascal can figure it out, cause he has the tools. And maybe it wont matter too much if they actually land a big fish. Sometimes i wonder if beal would be enough if you can retain pascal, og, fred and lowry. That might not even be possible, but if it was, who would come off the bench?
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