10-25-2024, 09:59 AM
One more thing: Reading the board today, I'm seeing lots of criticism of Grimes.
I totally agree it wasn't an "announce your presence with authority" debut from him, and on offense in particular he looked a little uncomfortable. You know, like a new guy. So did Marshall, imo, and honestly, so did Washington (still).
But, I'd like to point out that the REASON the spurs aren't good is that they are weak at ball-handling. Chris Paul is still dangerous enough, but he's not really the offensive engine these days that basically every other team is built around, and they're not even really using ball-handlers to attack the way 98% of NBA teams do right now. They're desperately trying to get Wembenyama the ball in a variety of ways, even initiating from above the break with HIM, similar to what MIL does with Giannis. When it wasn't Paul or Wembenyama, it was Sochan, who...isn't right for that role, to put it politely. Of those three players, Paul is the only one who feels like a Grimes assignment, and last night Hardy was able to stick with him just fine. So, what I'm saying is: I'm not sure this was the type of game where we'd have noticed how much this team needs Grimes on the floor, even.
Don't get me wrong - he has room to improve, for sure. I DID think he competed on defense effectively during his time on the floor, however.
I totally agree it wasn't an "announce your presence with authority" debut from him, and on offense in particular he looked a little uncomfortable. You know, like a new guy. So did Marshall, imo, and honestly, so did Washington (still).
But, I'd like to point out that the REASON the spurs aren't good is that they are weak at ball-handling. Chris Paul is still dangerous enough, but he's not really the offensive engine these days that basically every other team is built around, and they're not even really using ball-handlers to attack the way 98% of NBA teams do right now. They're desperately trying to get Wembenyama the ball in a variety of ways, even initiating from above the break with HIM, similar to what MIL does with Giannis. When it wasn't Paul or Wembenyama, it was Sochan, who...isn't right for that role, to put it politely. Of those three players, Paul is the only one who feels like a Grimes assignment, and last night Hardy was able to stick with him just fine. So, what I'm saying is: I'm not sure this was the type of game where we'd have noticed how much this team needs Grimes on the floor, even.
Don't get me wrong - he has room to improve, for sure. I DID think he competed on defense effectively during his time on the floor, however.
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