#37 Semi Ojeleye

Fishy1

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Giannis is a shooter now too. 33% on 3's this year on 5 attempts a game. I think we'll probably see more of Brown, who is a better defender and just as big, on him, than we will Semi.
 

lovegtm

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Giannis is a shooter now too. 33% on 3's this year on 5 attempts a game. I think we'll probably see more of Brown, who is a better defender and just as big, on him, than we will Semi.
I don't really believe in his release yet--it's very ugly and inconsistent, and he's an bad FT shooter with poor touch (ie his misses don't look like the yips, they look like inconsistent form). 33% on wide open 3s is pretty meh, and teams will live with that.

Jaylen still has problems defending post guys in a way that Semi doesn't. He's theoretically strong enough, but he gets overpowered or in foul trouble too easily.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Giannis is a shooter now too. 33% on 3's this year on 5 attempts a game. I think we'll probably see more of Brown, who is a better defender and just as big, on him, than we will Semi.
Even if he is a 33% 3 point shooter, you still want him taking the 3.
 

lovegtm

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It's better than him dunking all over your team, that's very true. I've overstated my case.
Also you have one of their biggest guys pulled away from the basket, so you're likely to get the rebound and then be out in transition. I'm guessing the opportunity to get out in transition ~60% of the time rather than ~45% is one reason Milwaukee themselves concedes 3s to 33-36% type guys on their opponents.

Or put another way: conceding the 3 to Giannis is using the exact strategy that Milwaukee itself uses to have the #1 defense.
 

benhogan

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Isn't that already his role tho? He's 8th in minutes on the team, 10th in mpg. If they give him a minutes bump like Hogan is suggesting, he's closer to being the 6th guy than the 10th or 11th guy.

Maybe I'm missing something. To me, he's already in his "ultimate NBA role." And he's fine in it.
He has those minutes more due to injuries and regular season rotations. As we know, playoff rotations shorten.

Semi would get 15mpg in the right matchup (GA, Simmons, Bron) in the playoffs IMO. Jaylen would start on them.
 

Cesar Crespo

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He has those minutes more due to injuries and regular season rotations. As we know, playoff rotations shorten.

Semi would get 15mpg in the right matchup (GA, Simmons, Bron) in the playoffs IMO. Jaylen would start on them.
As things stand now, I think that's the most likely scenario. I could see him falling to 12th in the rotation if Williams, Williams and Langford leapfrog him. I think Will & Will's progression will determine how big Semi's role actually is come playoff time.
 

benhogan

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As things stand now, I think that's the most likely scenario. I could see him falling to 12th in the rotation if Williams, Williams and Langford leapfrog him. I think Will & Will's progression will determine how big Semi's role actually is come playoff time.
Fair enough. give them all regular-season minutes and see who sticks.

There are some playoff matchups (ie Miami, Brooklyn) where I could see Semi getting DNP-CD if Langford or Granite progress.

If he could ever stay healthy TL rotates with Theis and Kanter. He has no role in the wing rotation and will have no impact on Semi's playoff minutes
 
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JakeRae

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Fair enough. give them all regular-season minutes and see who sticks.

There are some playoff matchups (ie Miami, Brooklyn) where I could see Semi getting DNP-CD if Langford or Granite progress.

If he could ever stay healthy TL rotates with Theis and Kanter. He has no role in the wing rotation and will have no impact on Semi's playoff minutes
I agree on continuing to find and mix in regular season minutes for everyone, including Semi. The point of disagreement is that I think Grant Williams has already passed Semi in terms of being bigger wing depth when the team shortens the rotation. He is just as good a defender and is a significantly better offensive player if you assume he’ll continue to shoot threes at a passable or better rate now that he’s gotten over his initial cold stretch. A combination of my eyes from watching games, and every statistical measure of player performance I’ve looked at, confirms this assessment and nothing in Brad’s utilization of the two indicates to me he doesn’t realize that Grant is already playing at a higher level than Semi ever has and is ever likely to.
 

the moops

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After his initial 0 for whatever to starty the season, he had a 4 game stretch where he made his threes at a very nice clip. However, since then he is 0 for in his past 4 games. He may move the ball beter than Semi, and has a better handle, but I wouldn't say that at this point he is a significantly better offensive player considering Semi is making 38% of his threes
 

Jimbodandy

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I agree on continuing to find and mix in regular season minutes for everyone, including Semi. The point of disagreement is that I think Grant Williams has already passed Semi in terms of being bigger wing depth when the team shortens the rotation. He is just as good a defender and is a significantly better offensive player if you assume he’ll continue to shoot threes at a passable or better rate now that he’s gotten over his initial cold stretch. A combination of my eyes from watching games, and every statistical measure of player performance I’ve looked at, confirms this assessment and nothing in Brad’s utilization of the two indicates to me he doesn’t realize that Grant is already playing at a higher level than Semi ever has and is ever likely to.
I don't think that anyone will disagree strongly with anything that you wrote. That said, what Semi has is not just the physique to impede the GF and Bens of the world but also the oddly quick feet and "guess instincts" (for lack of a better term) that interfere with what specific guys want to do.

I love Grant. Love. But the one main thing that Semi does, he does much better than Grant or anyone else on this roster. Smart has the same anticipation skills and can embarrass a big dude once in a while, but he lacks the girth for covering those guys for 15mpg. Grant has great overall instincts at both ends and is very intelligent, but hasn't show that he fits that very specific role well enough to bench Semi in those matchups (at least not to me).

Grant is already a better player. Semi is a specific square peg for a specific square hole.
 
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Cesar Crespo

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Any reason he didn't play last night? Looks like he's actually lost his role. He was playing earlier in the season when the team was at full health too.

Last 5 games: 7:00, 4:34, DNP, 20:40, DNP

He played the first 29 games of the year.

Langford hasn't really been playing either. Brad keeps me on my toes, anyway.
 

Jimbodandy

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Any reason he didn't play last night? Looks like he's actually lost his role. He was playing earlier in the season when the team was at full health too.

Last 5 games: 7:00, 4:34, DNP, 20:40, DNP

He played the first 29 games of the year.

Langford hasn't really been playing either. Brad keeps me on my toes, anyway.
Return of Smart mostly, I think.
 

benhogan

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Any reason he didn't play last night? Looks like he's actually lost his role. He was playing earlier in the season when the team was at full health too.

Last 5 games: 7:00, 4:34, DNP, 20:40, DNP

He played the first 29 games of the year.

Langford hasn't really been playing either. Brad keeps me on my toes, anyway.
he's used for certain matchups. Otherwise, he is deep bench.

He played those early-season minutes due to injuries
 

lovegtm

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Semi shooting 38% from 3 for the year now. Might be helpful if they’re forced to play him against Milwaukee.
 

lovegtm

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This isn't the same guy from recent game threads, right?
New Tatum lineups are ideal for him. He doesn’t look good in the Celtics normal offense, which requires a lot from secondary perimeter guys. In the setup where he’s getting a lot of open 3s generated because Tatum is doubled, he looks good.

Past a certain skill level, NBA roleplayers live or die based on their, well, role.

That said, he looked a lot more comfortable driving in space for whatever reason. There’s something to be said for knowing you’re going to get minutes on a given night.
 

pjheff

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Watching Semi last night, I was reminded of that one sequence in Hoosiers when Strap inexplicably starts dominating both ends of the floor. “The Lord,” he says. “I can feel His strength!”
 

Jimbodandy

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Watching Semi last night, I was reminded of that one sequence in Hoosiers when Strap inexplicably starts dominating both ends of the floor. “The Lord,” he says. “I can feel His strength!”
At one point Scal says "who is that guy?", which is basically what everyone was thinking. Good for Semi.
 

tbrown_01923

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I wish he bothered more like sized players more with his defense. But (and it is a different error) someone like Bruce Bowen took a while to get going as a shooter too. It wasn't until his late 20s that he put up the volume and consistency on threes made him a 3D guy.
 

Cesar Crespo

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It's too bad him and Wanamaker can't be (or aren't) depended on for any type of volume from 3. Also, since you weren't looking, Semi is also shooting .893 from the FT line. Only 28 attempts tho.

Semi .423/.382/.893, 1.5 3PA a game, .542 EFG%
Wana .425/.375/.925, 1.5 3PA a game, .479 EFG%

Big difference being 63% of Semi's shots are from 3, Wanamaker 28%.
Semi's shooting .491 from 2 on 0.9 attempts
Wana's shooting .445 from 2 on 3.7 attempts
 

lovegtm

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It's too bad him and Wanamaker can't be (or aren't) depended on for any type of volume from 3. Also, since you weren't looking, Semi is also shooting .893 from the FT line. Only 28 attempts tho.

Semi .423/.382/.893, 1.5 3PA a game, .542 EFG%
Wana .425/.375/.925, 1.5 3PA a game, .479 EFG%

Big difference being 63% of Semi's shots are from 3, Wanamaker 28%.
Semi's shooting .491 from 2 on 0.9 attempts
Wana's shooting .445 from 2 on 3.7 attempts
I think Semi would look decent on a team like the Rockets or Bucks, where the attention given to one guy and the subsequent scramble opens up a lot of moderately open attempts.

I suppose he'd also look better on the Celtics if they move to a more Tatum-centric system.