02-23-2024, 08:01 AM
Just finished watching, what a game. Felt a lot like a playoff matchup.
- KD is still insanely good, but he was kept to 23 points on 22 FGAs while picking up some TOs. PJ did a great job defending in most matchups.
- Booker had a great game, probably not gonna happen to slow both guys down simultaneously.
- Dirkie is a split for me so I don’t vote. Luka and Kyrie really took it to PHX but PJ was crucial defensively, these three stood out to me.
- It was good to see them play a lot of lineups with PJ/Kleber at PF. The results weren’t super impressive yet but it’s not like those lineups have gotten a ton of run so far this year. I think we’ll have something positive here come playoff time.
- Lively got outplayed badly in the first half by Nurkic who just moved him around under the basket. He was improved in the second half but Imo he was the third best option at C tonight
- Gafford struggled as well as he got shut down on offense but he at least controlled the board a bit better than DLive
- Enjoyed the Kleber minutes but got outmuscled a few times under the rim. Did help contain KD and helped space the floor on offense. Imo our best C tonight when he played the 5.
- Overall the C-position is night and day compared to a few weeks ago. Back then the game basically would have been over due to Lively having a rare bad stretch in the first half. Now they have a bulkier option with Gafford behind him and Kleber is finally looking better again. The depth & matchup flexibility we have here is making things extremely difficult for opposing teams.
- THjr had some timely buckets but I think they overplayed him in the first half. Also didn’t like to see him subbed in in crunch time over Green who just impacted the game more positive Imo.
- Green very energetic, made some mistakes defensively but overall just a positive impact guy. Shoots the three well, super quick, moves the ball, always active on defense, the boards and in transition. 5 assits completely within the flow of the offense is a big help
- DJJ was solid too, but it looks more and more like he’ll be the guy on the wings who will see his minutes decline the most imo.
- Overall we continue to look really good. The one big issue I see is that they only have less than 30 games left to build chemistry and figure out the rotations. The substitutions have been varying pretty much from
game to game since the trade, I hope they’ll figure things out quickly.
Some things I’d do:
- commit to the starting unit
- fewer minutes but more catch and shoot stuff for THjr as Luka/Kyrie and Exum are better ballhandlers
- try to get PJ up into the 30s
minute-wise; he’s remains extremely impactful out there without even shooting overly well
- stick with PJ/Kleber at PF a lot; that has a good trickle down effect size-wise and in theory both should be able to shoot enough from
three to get away with that at PF
- Lively+Gafford should play C a lot with the occasional Kleber at Center-action being sprinkled in; that way you’re putting up a ton of pressure on the rim by default and whenever going smaller is the better option you’ll have a more rested Kleber coming in
They still have a lot to figure out but this looks like a very dangerous team once the postseason comes around. I think we’re very versatile now that we’ve added size and athleticism in our frontcourt which should help negating our problems against bigger teams. Just gotta stay healthy, then I don’t see why we should not be in the conversation for homecourt advantage in a few weeks.
- KD is still insanely good, but he was kept to 23 points on 22 FGAs while picking up some TOs. PJ did a great job defending in most matchups.
- Booker had a great game, probably not gonna happen to slow both guys down simultaneously.
- Dirkie is a split for me so I don’t vote. Luka and Kyrie really took it to PHX but PJ was crucial defensively, these three stood out to me.
- It was good to see them play a lot of lineups with PJ/Kleber at PF. The results weren’t super impressive yet but it’s not like those lineups have gotten a ton of run so far this year. I think we’ll have something positive here come playoff time.
- Lively got outplayed badly in the first half by Nurkic who just moved him around under the basket. He was improved in the second half but Imo he was the third best option at C tonight
- Gafford struggled as well as he got shut down on offense but he at least controlled the board a bit better than DLive
- Enjoyed the Kleber minutes but got outmuscled a few times under the rim. Did help contain KD and helped space the floor on offense. Imo our best C tonight when he played the 5.
- Overall the C-position is night and day compared to a few weeks ago. Back then the game basically would have been over due to Lively having a rare bad stretch in the first half. Now they have a bulkier option with Gafford behind him and Kleber is finally looking better again. The depth & matchup flexibility we have here is making things extremely difficult for opposing teams.
- THjr had some timely buckets but I think they overplayed him in the first half. Also didn’t like to see him subbed in in crunch time over Green who just impacted the game more positive Imo.
- Green very energetic, made some mistakes defensively but overall just a positive impact guy. Shoots the three well, super quick, moves the ball, always active on defense, the boards and in transition. 5 assits completely within the flow of the offense is a big help
- DJJ was solid too, but it looks more and more like he’ll be the guy on the wings who will see his minutes decline the most imo.
- Overall we continue to look really good. The one big issue I see is that they only have less than 30 games left to build chemistry and figure out the rotations. The substitutions have been varying pretty much from
game to game since the trade, I hope they’ll figure things out quickly.
Some things I’d do:
- commit to the starting unit
- fewer minutes but more catch and shoot stuff for THjr as Luka/Kyrie and Exum are better ballhandlers
- try to get PJ up into the 30s
minute-wise; he’s remains extremely impactful out there without even shooting overly well
- stick with PJ/Kleber at PF a lot; that has a good trickle down effect size-wise and in theory both should be able to shoot enough from
three to get away with that at PF
- Lively+Gafford should play C a lot with the occasional Kleber at Center-action being sprinkled in; that way you’re putting up a ton of pressure on the rim by default and whenever going smaller is the better option you’ll have a more rested Kleber coming in
They still have a lot to figure out but this looks like a very dangerous team once the postseason comes around. I think we’re very versatile now that we’ve added size and athleticism in our frontcourt which should help negating our problems against bigger teams. Just gotta stay healthy, then I don’t see why we should not be in the conversation for homecourt advantage in a few weeks.
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