5 hours ago
(6 hours ago)mvossman Wrote: Agree with a lot of this, but not ready to say Max is better than Klay. Don't think he was last season, and its obviously too early to make that call for this season.
(5 hours ago)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: I thought Christie looked really dialed in Monday night. I'm not ready to say "better than Klay" as I think Klay's shooting, leadership and championship pedigree are important. But, Max was already closing games over Klay at times last year. I see no reason for that to change. I also think he's very much in a top 9 (over Naji) when Kyrie returns in games where the rotation starts to narrow.
It was one of the more controversial statements I made there, but I'm ready to say it. It's no slight at Klay, as I think his role is important. The only thing he does better than Max at this stage of his career is shoot the three ball. With that comes gravity/spacing of course. I just think Max finishes better inside, slashes more, better passing, and of course better defensively on the perimeter. Klay is a perfect 6th man to me. When he's hot from 3, he plays more minutes. When he's not he plays less. The perfect guy for 16 points in 16 minutes type. Yes, his leadership and experience are invaluable, and that's earned him the starting spot for now. I just think Christie is the better overall player.