Everything Valanciunas

[white men can't jump]

Could just be figuring out that he's just fine closing games and doesn't need to be taken out.

Or Pat was out a bit and the last two games we played teams where he can't go small to close

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[DanH]

Or Pat was out a bit and the last two games we played teams where he can't go small to close

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There's always that too. I was trying to be optimistic.

[white men can't jump]

There's always that too. I was trying to be optimistic.

I gave up with optimism on Casey for good after last year. I mean, he picks literally the worst possible matchup to start Pat, and on top of that we matched him up against Gasol...can you make a worse decision as a coach?

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[KeonClark]

I gave up with optimism on Casey for good after last year. I mean, he picks literally the worst possible matchup to start Pat, and on top of that we matched him up against Gasol...can you make a worse decision as a coach?

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Yes. You can be down 2 with 5.6 seconds left, and call a timeout to draw up "lowry gets it at the 3 point line of his own end of the court, then runs as fast as he can to hurl a 3 pointer over gasol and 2 other guys, but make sure he has tunnel vision and doesn't look for 2 men standing wide open"

[white men can't jump]

Yes. You can be down 2 with 5.6 seconds left, and call a timeout to draw up "lowry gets it at the 3 point line of his own end of the court, then runs as fast as he can to hurl a 3 pointer over gasol and 2 other guys, but make sure he has tunnel vision and doesn't look for 2 men standing wide open"

I hear ya but i can't help but feel that maybe you're not in that spot if you don't start the half-foot shorter PPat on their best player and let him heat up and go on to have a dominant performance.

Preventative measures are always better than curative ones...

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[Axel]

Yes. You can be down 2 with 5.6 seconds left, and call a timeout to draw up "lowry gets it at the 3 point line of his own end of the court, then runs as fast as he can to hurl a 3 pointer over gasol and 2 other guys, but make sure he has tunnel vision and doesn't look for 2 men standing wide open"

But look on the bright side, at least it was drawn on the correct side of the court on the whiteboard. Can't deny that progress has been made.

[Nilanka]

I don't remember which podcast I heard it on (either Zach Lowe or BBall Breakdown), but someone mentioned that a great trade would be Jonas for Drummond.

I'm somewhat intrigued about this idea, but it requires an understanding that Casey will never utilize Jonas to maximize his offensive potential in our guard-heavy sets. So might as well opt for a big man who just needs to set screens, rebound, and protect the paint (a la Biyombo last year).

[white men can't jump]

I don't remember which podcast I heard it on (either Zach Lowe or BBall Breakdown), but someone mentioned that a great trade would be Jonas for Drummond.

I'm somewhat intrigued about this idea, but it requires an understanding that Casey will never utilize Jonas to maximize his offensive potential in our guard-heavy sets. So might as well opt for a big man who just needs to set screens, rebound, and protect the paint (a la Biyombo last year).

Why would that be a great trade? Drummond has not progressed much at all with all the room to grow in Detroit, and while he's more athletic he is not a better defender and is a less skilled offensive player. How is the trade off good for us?

Just a realgm article, but it's knocking Drummond for his D on a team with a much better defensive coach than ours.

http://basketball.realgm.com/analysi...-The-Next-Step

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[DanH]

I don't remember which podcast I heard it on (either Zach Lowe or BBall Breakdown), but someone mentioned that a great trade would be Jonas for Drummond.

I'm somewhat intrigued about this idea, but it requires an understanding that Casey will never utilize Jonas to maximize his offensive potential in our guard-heavy sets. So might as well opt for a big man who just needs to set screens, rebound, and protect the paint (a la Biyombo last year).

Oh, boy, if people are disappointed in JV's reduced efficiency this year, wait until they get to watch Drummond miss every shot he takes outside of 3 feet. Drummond takes 90% of his shots inside of 10 feet and has the same FG% as JV (who takes only 75% of his shots from that close). And hopefully people wouldn't expect better rim protection from Drummond than JV - they post pretty similar block rates every year and Drummond gives up a higher percentage at the rim than JV while contesting fewer shots in more minutes played (although I will reiterate for clarity that DFG% is garbage, but some are concerned with JV's - which has coincidentally dropped to 51% on the year at this point to Drummond's 53%).

He is indeed an incredible rebounder - about as good as JV offensively, but tops in the league defensively. Could help with our defence just on the strength of that alone, though he seems likely to hurt our offence in the process, unless he and DD develop some lob chemistry. Would make a floor spacing PF even more important.

[white men can't jump]

Oh, boy, if people are disappointed in JV's reduced efficiency this year, wait until they get to watch Drummond miss every shot he takes outside of 3 feet. Drummond takes 90% of his shots inside of 10 feet and has the same FG% as JV (who takes only 75% of his shots from that close). And hopefully people wouldn't expect better rim protection from Drummond than JV - they post pretty similar block rates every year and Drummond gives up a higher percentage at the rim than JV while contesting fewer shots in more minutes played (although I will reiterate for clarity that DFG% is garbage, but some are concerned with JV's - which has coincidentally dropped to 51% on the year at this point to Drummond's 53%).

He is indeed an incredible rebounder - about as good as JV offensively, but tops in the league defensively. Could help with our defence just on the strength of that alone, though he seems likely to hurt our offence in the process, unless he and DD develop some lob chemistry. Would make a floor spacing PF even more important.

I would say he's similarly productive to JV offensively but is more limited, so I'd keep the guy who can make a few post moves, hit jumpers and free throws.

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[Nilanka]

Why would that be a great trade? Drummond has not progressed much at all with all the room to grow in Detroit, and while he's more athletic he is not a better defender and is a less skilled offensive player. How is the trade off good for us?

Just a realgm article, but it's knocking Drummond for his D on a team with a much better defensive coach than ours.

http://basketball.realgm.com/analysi...-The-Next-Step

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Alright, I take that back. Drummond's not quite the defender I had him pegged to be.

Alas, we're stuck with Jonas and a coach who doesn't know how to use him. Fun times.

Edit: Surprisingly well-written piece from RealGM.

[JimmyGetsBucketss]

JV is like a poor man's Kanter both are bad defenders but Kanter can shoot and has decent post footwork.

[lewro]

Drummond is not my first choice but his D stats are better than jv.
Steals 1.6, blocks 1.2, dbpm 3, drpm 1.65. I suspect rebounding aids the last two stats but I'd also assume that jvs rebounding buoys those numbers for him too.
Again, not advocating for Drummond but statistically he might improve the D at the 5.
I've been too busy to watch games recently but based off of what I read, it seems like jv has been hesitant to play a bigger role in the offense while DD is out?
Personally, I'd like a defensive 5 like DJ and a two way 4 like millsap. Wishful thinking.

[KeonClark]

JV is like a poor man's Kanter both are bad defenders but Kanter can shoot and has decent post footwork.

A poor man's? Please don't drop in just to troll. Jonas is better in the post, considerably better rebounding, and a much better post defender, rim protector.

[Just Is]

A poor man's? Please don't drop in just to troll. Jonas is better in the post, considerably better rebounding, and a much better post defender, rim protector.

Pretty much better in all categories except usage/touches. Even their "bad" defense isn't remotely comparable.