Without Kawhi, no.Incredible game by PG. Didn’t see the Clips going into Utah and stealing game 5.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY HANDSHas anyone checked in on CP?
Yeah, you can fit pretty much anyone with Tatum/Brown, which is why they're so valuable. You can then get some value by adding an elite guy with a hard-to-fit weakness into that. Simmons would work really well--you can just play a generic $10-15M/year big shooting guard/wing at the "1", and then Simmons at the 4 or 5, depending on whether he's playing with a floor-spacing center or not.What team would Ben Simmons fit the best on anyway? It's the Celtics, isn't it? A healthy Clippers team.
There aren't many teams he would fit on as is. Most teams would have to build around him.
The Step-up/Let-guard-down Effect in full force these playoffs.The Bucks losing to the Nets, the 76ers blowing it in the fourth to Atlanta, and the Jazz falling at home to the Kawhi-less Clippers are three all-time gut punch playoff losses in the span of like 30 hours.
This article - https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/hawks-76ers-ben-simmons-apologists-have-their-work-cut-out-for-them-and-the-process-is-hanging-by-a-thread/ - pretty much says the same thing.If Hawks close this out, I think the Process will officially be broken. Should have traded Simmons for Harden. Completely agree with the thought that Simmons would be best as small ball center. He needs to play the Boris Diaw role from those great Suns teams of the mid-2000s.
I think you have to deal him and try another combination before Embiid's health craps out.
Nick Anderson’s 4 consecutive missed FT’s in The Finals for Orlando after hitting 70+% for the year was followed by him shooting them at 40% the following year and he later had another sub-50% FT season. He’s the first guy who comes to mind.This SImmons stuff is insane. I’ve never seen anyone in his head this much about shooting free throws. I get he’s not a shooter, but I cannot remember seeing someone shoot in the 30s for an extended stretch like this. It’s awful to watch.
I haven’t watched much NBA in recent years but I’m trying to get back into it, and I didn’t understand what the big issue with the 76ers is… I’m getting a better idea now.
Simmons is a career 60% FT shooter and his playoff FT rate prior to this season was 65%. The 33% FT rate he is putting up this post season while a SS is shockingly bad.Nick Anderson’s 4 consecutive missed FT’s in The Finals for Orlando after hitting 70+% for the year was followed by him shooting them at 40% the following year and he later had another sub-50% FT season. He’s the first guy who comes to mind.
The reason I equate Ben to Nick and not to Shaq/Andre is bc as you said.....Ben had prior (moderate) success shooting FT’s prior to this season, similar to Nick, while Shaq and Andre were always horrific. We expected that from them......there isn’t a logical reason to have expected Ben to shoot them at 33% for the playoffs this year.Simmons is a career 60% FT shooter and his playoff FT rate prior to this season was 65%. The 33% FT rate he is putting up this post season while a SS is shockingly bad.
DeAndre Jordan's and Andre Drummond who are both about 40% FT shooters in the playoffs for their careers are reasonable comps. Shaq had playoff seasons where he was in the high 30s and Wilt had a couple of playoff seasons in the low 30s at the tail end of his career.
Interesting company. Maybe Simmons should be considered a big and not a PG.
Agree. Simmons is an enigma. His FT rate in the playoffs has been on a declining trend throughout his career but I don't think anyone would have predicted he would completely fall of the cliff. I hope he can turn it around. I think Doc pulling him late in games while understandable and necessary is really messing with Simmons' confidence.The reason I equate Ben to Nick and not to Shaq/Andre is bc as you said.....Ben had prior (moderate) success shooting FT’s prior to this season, similar to Nick, while Shaq and Andre were always horrific. We expected that from them......there isn’t a logical reason to have expected Ben to shoot them at 33% for the playoffs this year.
In some ways, he's similar to Rondo but Rondo had 3 HOFs playing alongside him and while the 3 ball was definitely a big part of the game, it wasn't as big as it is now.Agree. Simmons is an enigma. His FT rate in the playoffs has been on a declining trend throughout his career but I don't think anyone would have predicted he would completely fall of the cliff. I hope he can turn it around. I think Doc pulling him late in games while understandable and necessary is really messing with Simmons' confidence.
Rondo was not at his peak when the C's won a title. He was a 2nd year PG. I guess that's on me for not being more specific.You can't compare Simmons to Rondo, or Jason Kidd, or any other PG that was a great passer but struggled shooting the ball. For starters, those guys peaked during a time when it was okay to have a PG with a shaky jumper. The other difference is that those guys also at least took outside shots to try and keep defenses honest. People whine about Giannis taking threes, but if he makes 2/5 of them it can be a big difference maker in a game and you know that he earnestly is trying to get better by taking those shots in games. Rondo and Kidd were also at their peaks, the smartest, toughest players on the court and commanded their teams. Simmons is passive and clearly the beta to Embiid's alpha status.
That's a huge part of his problem. He's miscast. And bigs who can pass the ball aren't all that rare nowadays. I don't see how he's better than Bam or even Sabonis. Maybe he's a better passer than both but not enough to make him better overall.Simmons shouldn't be comped to PGs at all, because he's not a PG, he's a big who can pass
There are what, 50 max contracts out there? Maybe 40? He is definitely worth a max contractI think a lot of it just comes down to Ben Simmons being incredibly overrated and his skill set isn't even that rare anymore. There are plenty of big men who can pass the rock nowadays. Is he really a max player?
Yeah, probably, He's just not a max guy I'd want to build around or move another max guy for (ones in their prime, not Kemba).There are what, 50 max contracts out there? Maybe 40? He is definitely worth a max contract
People keep saying this but it simply isn't true. He handles the ball in transition, and his sole value is being able to run a fast break and drive-and-kick. He isn't used like Jokic, or Sabonis, who operate out of the post, pass from the elbows, and set a lot of screens. Perhaps he could transition into this role at some point, but he IS a point guard, he just has a lot of flaws.Simmons shouldn't be comped to PGs at all, because he's not a PG, he's a big who can pass
Take one look at the man’s injury history.FWIW Jalen Rose said on one of the ESPN shows this morning that Chris Paul is vaccinated. So either Jalen has bad info or Chris Paul is the unluckiest man on the planet.
There are plenty of max and near max contracts out there that are disasters and teams would love to get rid of. I don't know the total number of max contracts, but if there are 50 that doesn't mean 50 players are worth it. Plenty of negative assets floating around, like Kemba.There are what, 50 max contracts out there? Maybe 40? He is definitely worth a max contract
A team can easily fit two max contracts on their books without creating significant cap problems, and three is possible if you are willing to pay the tax to round out your roster. In that sense you’d expect the top 60 to 75 players in the league to be “max” guys.There are what, 50 max contracts out there? Maybe 40? He is definitely worth a max contract
There were 43 in 20-21.A team can easily fit two max contracts on their books without creating significant cap problems, and there is possible if you are willing to pay the tax to round out your roster. In that sense you’d expect the top 60 to 75 players in the league to be “max” guys.
Amazing how much negative value is on that list. Being a top 50 player doesn't mean you automatically deserve a max contract slot. If you are making max and the 50th best player in the NBA, your team probably was hoping you would be better right now and are disappointed.
Getting max quality players on rookie deals makes it very easy to build a contender because of the ridiculous value it offers. Even finding a rotation player in the draft has huge value.Amazing how much negative value is on that list. Being a top 50 player doesn't mean you automatically deserve a max contract slot. If you are making max and the 50th best player in the NBA, your team probably was hoping you would be better right now and are disappointed.
Also, it's more complicated because some of the top players aren't even max guys yet due to age (Zion for example). The NBA salary structure for young players isn't as extreme as the MLB, but it still underpays the young superstars still on their rookie deals. You have to pretty much remove those guys from the discussion if you are coming up with these contract/value rankings. Zion obviously takes up a top 50 player ranking spot but that doesn't equate to a max deal yet.
Actually I think it is the opposite. Because you get so much excess value on rookie contracts it is okay to “overpay” a veteran on a max deal. Also the back-end negative value is skewed by the fact that All-Star guys are generally underpaid in the early years of their max deals, as they contribute a lot more in value than the 25% of the cap they get.Amazing how much negative value is on that list. Being a top 50 player doesn't mean you automatically deserve a max contract slot. If you are making max and the 50th best player in the NBA, your team probably was hoping you would be better right now and are disappointed.
Also, it's more complicated because some of the top players aren't even max guys yet due to age (Zion for example). The NBA salary structure for young players isn't as extreme as the MLB, but it still underpays the young superstars still on their rookie deals. You have to pretty much remove those guys from the discussion if you are coming up with these contract/value rankings. Zion obviously takes up a top 50 player ranking spot but that doesn't equate to a max deal yet.
I hear that, I didn't put in the caveat about young players as a reason you should have less players making the max. Just mentioning it as a complicating factor in the analysis, but I wasn't very clear.Actually I think it is the opposite. Because you get so much excess value on rookie contracts it is okay to “overpay” a veteran on a max deal. Also the back-end negative value is skewed by the fact that All-Star guys are generally underpaid in the early years of their max deals, as they contribute a lot more in value than the 25% of the cap they get.
The term “Max guy” is thrown around sometimes as if this is the player you build around which isn’t necessarily the case. A good team can fit 3 max contracts comfortably. The confusion has to do with the best max players actually being UNDER paid as they cannot go beyond a max.Yeah, probably, He's just not a max guy I'd want to build around or move another max guy for (ones in their prime, not Kemba).
I definitely thought about Nick Anderson, but had forgotten how his overall percentage fell off a cliff after those misses. That's wild, especially considering he was still shooting the 3-ball at a decent percentage.Nick Anderson’s 4 consecutive missed FT’s in The Finals for Orlando after hitting 70+% for the year was followed by him shooting them at 40% the following year and he later had another sub-50% FT season. He’s the first guy who comes to mind.
I'd take him on the C's all day at max. I just wouldn't want to build a franchise around the guy. It doesn't mean I wouldn't take him with my 3rd round pick if he was available in an NBA mock draft. I'm just not sure he'd be in my first 2 picks. This assumes a serpentine drafting order. Last in round 1 goes first in round 2. If had one of the first 4-5 picks, maybe I'd take him at the end of round 2. That's not much different than round 3 though because the picks wouldn't be far apart.The term “Max guy” is thrown around sometimes as if this is the player you build around which isn’t necessarily the case. A good team can fit 3 max contracts comfortably. The confusion has to do with the best max players actually being UNDER paid as they cannot go beyond a max.
That is an amazing page. The numbers on those contracts are INSANE.
I know we talk about next year being crucial in Romeo establishing his value but coming off this train wreck it is also going to be a crucial one for Simmons as well. ReggieCleveland responded in the other thread that the game may be swung so far away from non-shooters that Ben’s value, even if he overcomes the FT yips, may never reach where it has been.I definitely thought about Nick Anderson, but had forgotten how his overall percentage fell off a cliff after those misses. That's wild, especially considering he was still shooting the 3-ball at a decent percentage.
Yeah it feels like Giannis's star has dropped a good bit this year, at least based on what I'm reading here. I think there's some hyperbole around that, because almost everything I've ever seen has him among the NBA's elite, but it does feel like his flaws have been exposed a bit this season. I'll be interested to see if he reworks any parts of his game in response. I don't have a good feeling about Simmons doing that.I know we talk about next year being crucial in Romeo establishing his value but coming off this train wreck it is also going to be a crucial one for Simmons as well. ReggieCleveland responded in the other thread that the game may be swung so far away from non-shooters that Ben’s value, even if he overcomes the FT yips, may never reach where it has been.
Edit: Honestly I feel similar about Giannis in how the game is affecting his value (to me anyway).
I actually agree with her under these circumstances. Primarily half court game without Kyrie and a 3-2 lead. There won’t be many instances where this hurts the Nets and if there is they probably aren’t going to win anyway.Not sprinting on your injured hammy is savvy according to Doris.