You wouldn't know it from ESPN et al., but the Raptors have been significantly better than the Cavs so far this season.
Better adjusted net rating than the Celtics too (albeit in significantly fewer games).You wouldn't know it from ESPN et al., but the Raptors have been significantly better than the Cavs so far this season.
True, but they've been close enough where you could call them the same tier (+7.6 and +6.2 by B-Ref's SRS before tonight, which I imagine the Cs have closed slightly after smashing a tough team on the road).Better adjusted net rating than the Celtics too (albeit in significantly fewer games).
Maybe they should send him to Kentucky.Embiid was out last night and supposed to play tonight, but was held out again. Looks like just back tightness, but jeesh
And now on the short end of a 33-17 4th quarter.Philly just put up a 40-21 third quarter on NO with no Embiid and no Covington.
Ended up getting outscored 44-29 in the 4th, now down to .500 for the year. Good fight without two of their top 3, will be interesting to see if this sets progress back on them easing Embiid’s minutes restrictions.And now on the short end of a 33-17 4th quarter.
He is balling out of late. 33 points on 11-24 shooting on Friday night over the LeBrons and now 47 on 15-28. I would argue that, after all the ridicule they got from the general sports watching public and considering that George was a mortal lock to bolt after this season, Pritchard won that deal handily.47 for Oladipo. Indy made out quite well in that trade.
Lost in the collapse was Trevor Booker's debut in which he poured in 16 points and nine boards in 24 minutes of play. Rajon Rondo had 18 assists in this game. And no, that isn't a typo.And now on the short end of a 33-17 4th quarter.
I don't see much fight when you're giving up 44 in the 4th.Ended up getting outscored 44-29 in the 4th, now down to .500 for the year. Good fight without two of their top 3, will be interesting to see if this sets progress back on them easing Embiid’s minutes restrictions.
Is Oladipo the other Eastern Conference starting guard in the all-star game, with Kyrie?47 for Oladipo. Indy made out quite well in that trade.
They were down 12 at halftime on the road without two of their top 3 guys, put up the monster third quarter to take the lead, then ran out of gas. To me that’s a good effort, YMMV.I don't see much fight when you're giving up 44 in the 4th.
D'oh yeah, good point. Still, the voting system is the same as last year: voters (50% fans, 25% media, 25% players) pick five starters from each conference, with coaches picking the seven reserves. Just positing that Oladipo has a good shot to be voted in as a starter.The All Star game isn't East vs West this year.
Beal and Oladipo are in the conversation with Kyrie along with Simmons. All four are ahead of Lowry imo.Is Oladipo the other Eastern Conference starting guard in the all-star game, with Kyrie?
Only potentially more deserving guy I can think of is Lowry, but he may inspire voter fatigue from being really good every year, and his scoring numbers are less gaudy (16.5 ppg to VO's 24.5). Beal is close, but Oladipo has him beat both by traditional and advanced numbers, plus his team has wildly outperformed their pre-season expectations while Beal's team has underperformed theirs. Ben Simmons is also probably in the convo, but his team is backsliding.
To me it's: Irving-Oladipo-James-Antetokounmpo-Horford, though I could see Drummond/Embiid beating out Horford, and Lowry/Beal/Simmons beating out Oladipo.
Edit: Curry-Harden-Durant-Davis-Cousins in the West, assuming (knocking wood) Steph doesn't miss too many more games. Aldridge, Jokic and Draymond in the convo for one the frontcourt spots.
Probably, but Lowry needs love: 18.0 pts on .612 true shooting / 7.1 rebounds (!) / 7.8 assists per 36; #1 in RPM among Eastern shooting guards; leading the team with the best net rating in the conference.All four are ahead of Lowry imo.
Wall has regressed in every area from last season (scoring volume, scoring efficiency, assists, rebounds, steals, RPM) and has played in 16 of his team's 26 games. If he comes back soon and leads the Wiz back to respectability, I'd definitely consider him, but for now he's well behind the other 5, imho. Kemba has a better case, but his team has slipped from mediocre (where they were expected to be) to bad.John Wall not getting any love? Kemba?
Wall's been banged up with shoulder and knee problems since early in the season.....if it were East/West this year he'd be in my mix for the final guard spot. Kemba is having another very good year but these fringe guys who made it one year tend to be overlooked when another first-timer is making a leap and getting attention like Beal and Oladipo are this season.John Wall not getting any love? Kemba?
And Simmons.Wall's been banged up with shoulder and knee problems since early in the season.....if it were East/West this year he'd be in my mix for the final guard spot. Kemba is having another very good year but these fringe guys who made it one year tend to be overlooked when another first-timer is making a leap and getting attention like Beal and Oladipo are this season.
I've watched a lot of Pacers games and I would take Oladipo over Paul George. He is so ridiculously long and athletic. He's also improved his shooting year over year from pretty much every spot on the floor. His rebounding, assist and steal rates have also returned to Orlando levels.47 for Oladipo. Indy made out quite well in that trade.
Sabonis played away from the basket in OKC. 44.5% of his shots in OKC were from at least 16 feet out. This year, it's at 22%. He's on pace to attempt 36 threes this year after attempting 154 last year. Of course, his defensive rebound % is also up 10% from last year too. He was also a great rebounder in college with a good inside game. OKC was clearly using him wrong.Sabonis has upped his rebounding rate from 6.4 to 12.5 boards per 36 which is basically unheard of (since rebounding more than any other skill tends to stay pretty constant in young players).
Meanwhile, Kanter has gone from 11.3 to 14.4, Dougie McBuckets has gone from 4.1 to 4.7. and Oladipo has gone from 4.7 to 5.7.
No idea what happened to all those rebounds in OKC.
Yeah, I was attempting a dig at Westbrook, but I suspect Billy Donovan may deserve a big part of that dig.Sabonis played away from the basket in OKC. 44.5% of his shots in OKC were from at least 16 feet out. This year, it's at 22%. He's on pace to attempt 36 threes this year after attempting 154 last year. Of course, his defensive rebound % is also up 10% from last year too. He was also a great rebounder in college with a good inside game. OKC was clearly using him wrong.
I'm actually surprised Skiles record of 30 assists hasn't been challenged in today's up tempo game. Rondo had a few 20+ assists, but outside of him I don't remember anyone recently.James Harden with 14 assists ... in the first half.
Rockets 78, Pelicans 76 at halftime.
Ramon Sessions of all people had a game a few years back that came close. I want to say he had 26 in a game.I'm actually surprised Skiles record of 30 assists hasn't been challenged in today's up tempo game. Rondo had a few 20+ assists, but outside of him I don't remember anyone recently.
That was almost 9 years ago, but I remember it and it was 24. Rondo had 24 a couple years later.Ramon Sessions of all people had a game a few years back that came close. I want to say he had 26 in a game.
It's only up-tempo relative to the prior period, though. FGM and assists per game are still significantly lower than they were in the mid to late 80s, and even 1990 when Skiles set the record. You had Stockton averaging 14 a game for a five-year period. Nobody now comes near that for a single year.I'm actually surprised Skiles record of 30 assists hasn't been challenged in today's up tempo game. Rondo had a few 20+ assists, but outside of him I don't remember anyone recently.
Pace in 90/91 was 97.8. This year, its 97.6. The FGM/FGA is true, as teams averaged 87.2 FG/G in 90/91, as opposed to 85.1 this year. 41.4 made FGs a game to 39. Three point attempts went up from 7.1 a game to 28.7 lol. Teams shot .474/.320/.765 that year, .488 from 2. This season, teams are shooting .459/.363/.765, .507 from 2. Assists are down from 24.7 to 22.5.It's only up-tempo relative to the prior period, though. FGM and assists per game are still significantly lower than they were in the mid to late 80s, and even 1990 when Skiles set the record. You had Stockton averaging 14 a game for a five-year period. Nobody now comes near that for a single year.
It makes me wonder if there is something about the Warriors play in specific that leads to blocks. David West was never much of a shot blocker until arriving in GS. Career 2.1% block rate, in GS it's 5.2. This year, it's 7.2. Kevin Durant has also doubled his block rate since arriving to GS and is 2nd in the NBA to only Myles Turner in BPG. Jordan Bell and McGee you'd expect, so some of it is the personal.Warriors as a team now have 234 blocked shots. #2 in the NBA is the Spurs with 158. The rest of the league ranges from 81 to 141.
Well the current Warriors squad has always had good to great defensive versatility with three to four wings and Curry on the floor at any given time - and when it was three, they had Bogut anchoring the paint.It makes me wonder if there is something about the Warriors play in specific that leads to blocks. David West was never much of a shot blocker until arriving in GS. Career 2.1% block rate, in GS it's 5.2. This year, it's 7.2. Kevin Durant has also doubled his block rate since arriving to GS and is 2nd in the NBA to only Myles Turner in BPG. Jordan Bell and McGee you'd expect, so some of it is the personal.
They already have 7 blocks with 19 minutes + to play. West and Durant have 3 each. They are playing without Green and Curry and are up by 20 anyway.
I feel it is as simple as players roles changing without Bogut and Ezeli around as rim protectors. Not only does it force Durant and Green to defend the paint more but not having it also allows the offensive player to underestimate the Warrior rim protection without a traditional rim protector.Durant always should have been a great shot blocker when you consider his athleticism, coordination and outstanding length. I think playing in a team with a strong defensive system and having less of an offensive burden has unlocked that part of his game.
David Robinson did it once and Kareem did it 4 times. They actually did it over 36 minutes though.O
Who gets 4.5 assists and 3.5 blocks per 36? He can no longer play 30+ minutes, and even 20 is pushing it, but on a per minute basis, he's been the Warriors best C by far — indeed one of the better Cs in the NBA. By RPM he currently ranks #5 among NBA power forwards (no idea why he's listed at PF, as he almost exclusively plays C), after Giannis, Draymond, Horford and AD.
Lacey was like the original Draymond Green.Last year may have been just as impressive, in that he averaged 6.4 assists and 2.0 blocks per 36. The only guy in NBA history to average > 6 assists and 2 blocks per 36 in over 800 minutes played is ... David West.
Lower the assist threshold to 5 and you get West plus two seasons of Bill Walton (74-75 and 77-78).
Lower the assist threshold to 5 and the block threshold to 1.5 and you get nine guys: West, Walton (x2), Antetokounmpo, Noah, Durant, Draymond (x2), Cousins, Alvan Adams, and Sam Lacey (x5).
Hmm, I may need to study up on this Sam Lacey fellow...
Screw the pick, I'm all in on Cavs schadenfreude. Nets currently have the 10th worst record in the league. Imagine if Lin hadn't gotten hurt...Nets win, Mavs hanging in there and either Suns or Kings have to win. A decent night for The Pick (2-5).