01-03-2022, 01:26 PM
(01-03-2022, 08:31 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: This had a bit of a pre-season feel too it, so it is difficult to take too much away from this.
With that said, there were some periods of time with a lineup I really liked. It was Green and Chriss together with Bullock and THJ. Some of the time Luka was part of the group, some of the time Brunson was there and for about a minute and a half there wasn't a PG at all. There was another segment that had S. Brown instead of Hardaway, but I liked the version with THJ as he provides a bit more spacing and a greater offensive threat.
The segments with Green, Chriss, Bullock and THJ were +5 to start the second and a +9 run from the end of the third through the first few minutes of the fourth. This is against the OKC bench, so don't get too excited, but the theory of that foursome makes sense to me.
I find it interesting that Chriss has been used almost exclusively in single-big lineups. He's played most of his career as a PF, but I only see three minutes of him on the floor with any of KP, Powell, Kleber or Moses. He's shown he can rim run and in a very limited sample, hit a three. If that is real, why couldn't he and Maxi share PF duties with a few minutes of small-ball four from DFS? It is easy to focus on his O, especially on a night where he hits three 3's. But, he has the lowest D-Rating on the team and the highest TRB% also. At the very least he's got to stay on the roster. I get wanting to hang onto the WCS salary for trade matching purposes. Personally, I'm OK if Moses has to be sacrificed (though I'd rather do a WCS included deal in the next few days before the Chriss 10-day runs out). The Moses perimeter D is Boban-esqe as his lateral quickness is just terrible. He does some nice things around the rim and brings good energy. but even OKC just put him in isolation against a guard on several occasions in his limited minutes and just embarrassed him. Chriss must stay.
I have liked what I have seen from Chriss. He has made some really feel passes too. If he continues his impressive play, it will be interesting to see what happens. I am not sold on his three point shooting, but he did make three last night. The form looks a little dicey.
WCS has been gone for over a month. If they keep him around without giving an update hoping to use his salary in a trade, I will be disappointed.
I would like to see Chris play with KP and Luka. Spread the floor. Have Chriss Rim run. KP cuts from the perimeter and see how this looks. Maybe Luka, KP, Chris, Bullock and Sterling Brown/Brunson??? I am tempted to say Josh Green but his lack of shooting may clog things up.