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Jimbodandy

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I'm not so certain that Ja belongs above Trae. He's got the physical tools to be a better defender but he's certainly not using them (yet). Add in potential injury concerns with Ja and it wouldn't shock me if a year from now their order is flipped. Very curious to see how he looks alongside Murray.
Trae is without question a next-level bad defender. And despite Ja not doing much there (as you note), there is a gulf between Trae and well, basically, everyone. We really can't continue to treat all "bad defenders" the same. There is a continuum, just like good and bad offensive players.

That said, Trae is a better offensive player by a decent amount too. At least right now.

If I were buying stocks, I would buy Ja and sell high on Trae. Ja is still on an upswing, and there is a reason to believe that he has another leap in him. Trae is who he is, which is currently still a slightly better player than Ja. Trae still has some incremental growth built in, so I wouldn't say that it's a given that Ja ends up the better player in the end. But that's where I'd put my money.
 

Euclis20

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Trae is without question a next-level bad defender. And despite Ja not doing much there (as you note), there is a gulf between Trae and well, basically, everyone. We really can't continue to treat all "bad defenders" the same. There is a continuum, just like good and bad offensive players.

That said, Trae is a better offensive player by a decent amount too. At least right now.

If I were buying stocks, I would buy Ja and sell high on Trae. Ja is still on an upswing, and there is a reason to believe that he has another leap in him. Trae is who he is, which is currently still a slightly better player than Ja. Trae still has some incremental growth built in, so I wouldn't say that it's a given that Ja ends up the better player in the end. But that's where I'd put my money.
I agree with all this, but (and I'm not sure this is fair), I'm worried about injuries with Ja. His play style and immediate history (missing 25 games and the most important games of the year against GS) leave me a bit more bullish on Trae's longterm future. For the same reason, I wouldn't put Zion on this list until he plays at least two healthy seasons. Durability is always underrated in these discussions.

*edit - Perk is a complete clown. Tatum, the guy who just made 1st team all-NBA, led his team to the NBA finals and has played more total minutes than anyone else in the league over the last 5 years, is behind Ja (who missed almost 30 games this year including playoffs) and Young (the worst defensive player in the league)? Tatum's career achievements and future ceiling is as high as those two guys combined.
 
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Jimbodandy

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I agree with all this, but (and I'm not sure this is fair), I'm worried about injuries with Ja. His play style and immediate history (missing 25 games and the most important games of the year against GS) leave me a bit more bullish on Trae's longterm future. For the same reason, I wouldn't put Zion on this list until he plays at least two healthy seasons. Durability is always underrated in these discussions.

*edit - Perk is a complete clown. Tatum, the guy who just made 1st team all-NBA, led his team to the NBA finals and has played more total minutes than anyone else in the league over the last 5 years, is behind Ja (who missed almost 30 games this year including playoffs) and Young (the worst defensive player in the league)? Tatum's career achievements and future ceiling is as high as those two guys combined.
Cosign on all of this.

Availability matters. I'm not sure that Ja's style is going to land him in the hospital more often than Trae, because luck is a big component. But his style of play is more risky for sure.

And Perk being Perk. I stopped listening to him years ago when he didn't notice that bigs are like third class citizens in the modern NBA. When such a high percentage of shots are from 23+ feet away, it doesn't matter very much if a guy is 6'10' or 6'7" for rebound purposes. He gets paid to analyze things and was unaware of that. He's a take machine, like most folks nowadays.
 

radsoxfan

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Surprised on a Celtics board no one taking Tatum over Luka. JT was just 1st team all NBA, ECF Finals MVP, and has quite a bit more defensive upside. I think they are 1A and 1B on that list.

Perk putting Trae over Tatum is insane clickbait.
 

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Jimbodandy

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I'm taking Tatum over Luka.

Mostly just glad that people are at least clear that Tatum is top 5 in class.

The case for Luka over Tatum is not based in data really.
 

benhogan

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Surprised on a Celtics board no one taking Tatum over Luka. JT was just 1st team all NBA, ECF Finals MVP, and has quite a bit more defensive upside. I think they are 1A and 1B on that list.

Perk putting Trae over Tatum is insane clickbait.
We already had a Tatum vs. Luka debate about 3 weeks ago (w/LEBRONs and DARKOs).

https://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?threads/2022-top-125-players-ranked-in-tiers-the-athletic.37017/page-2

The majority of the board feels Tatum is better but the NBA media clearly likes Luka over JT

I'd like to see Luka show up in shape one year before Brad ships out a growing, chiseled WING (Tatum). Work ethic/habits count when talking about trades for young players. Tatum's $$$ is also friendlier.

Question, if JT plays with good players and Luka plays with nobody. Why does Tatum eviscerate Doncic on +/- per 100 OnCourt and On/Off every season? over 4-5 seasons it shouldn't consistently contrast to such a massive degree, esp. if Luka is a one-man show.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/tatumja01.html

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/doncilu01.html
Going a little deeper on what benhogan says above. Just going by on/off and percentile, this is Tatum by season, starting with his rookie year. Per cleaning the glass.

+8.5 (91st)
+7.6 (91st)
+11 (96th)
+5.4 (81st)
+16.5 (99th)

Now Luka
-1.9 (41st)
+1.8 (63rd)
+2.2 (65th)
-0.9 (46th)

Now obviously on/off isn’t everything, but it’s a staggering difference. Especially when you consider the Celtics have the luxury of another all star caliber player, and the Mavs have struggled finding that second guy.

Luka may have the higher ceiling, but Tatum is absolutely the bigger difference maker as of now.
I always say that Tatum is, in the pace & space era, the real unicorn. A two way wing that can carry an offense while providing you plus plus defense. He's literally the player that every NBA GM would sell their soul for.
 
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lovegtm

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Wrt the NBA media and Tatum vs Luka:

It seems to be one of those things where Luka came into the league and was an amazing lead offensive player immediately, whereas Tatum took a lot more time.

Luka also gets a boost from his raw assist numbers being higher simply by being the PG, even while Tatum has closed a ton of the passing gap between them.

If the media were shown the numbers and game film of the two of them this past year, with no prior context, I think Tatum would do much better in their rankings.
 

benhogan

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Wrt the NBA media and Tatum vs Luka:

It seems to be one of those things where Luka came into the league and was an amazing lead offensive player immediately, whereas Tatum took a lot more time.

Luka also gets a boost from his raw assist numbers being higher simply by being the PG, even while Tatum has closed a ton of the passing gap between them.

If the media were shown the numbers and game film of the two of them this past year, with no prior context, I think Tatum would do much better in their rankings.
Agreed.

Luka vs. JT is a toss-up offensively (maybe Luka by a hair). The biggest differentiator is Tatum's +++ defense and Luka's below-average D. We've all witnessed Luka getting targeted in playoff games, right?

Unless you incessantly follow Tatum/Celtics, like most of us do around here, you may not realize how exceptional he is at D. The mainstream NBA media (JVG, Doris, ESPN talking heads, etc) are still stuck on Tatum/Brown as good defensive wings, when we know they are night/day on D. That's just one clue they don't follow Boston close enough. JT's perimeter defense is Top5 and better than Smart IMO. For example, he's long enough to challenge Durant jumpers and is fundamentally sound/quick enough to guard Trae Young on the perimeter (DEF FG% reflects this)

Another head-scratcher is the NBA media will cite +/- at halftime of a game BUT then willfully ignore 4-5 separate years of data. They cite team point differential at the end of the season, yet don't bother connecting the dots by including the one stat (player +/-) that impacts it the most o_O

One last note, if you look at PBS acquisitions you'll notice he adds players that consistently have good ON/OFF. Horford/White/Gallinari, over their careers, have all excelled on +/-. Unsurprisingly, the NBA media didn't get terribly excited about those acquisitions. Brad seems to value that stat and its probably why we won't see Marcus Smart dealt
 
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Cesar Crespo

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Wrt the NBA media and Tatum vs Luka:

It seems to be one of those things where Luka came into the league and was an amazing lead offensive player immediately, whereas Tatum took a lot more time.

Luka also gets a boost from his raw assist numbers being higher simply by being the PG, even while Tatum has closed a ton of the passing gap between them.

If the media were shown the numbers and game film of the two of them this past year, with no prior context, I think Tatum would do much better in their rankings.

"Simply by being a PG."

Being able to run the point is a big thing.
 

HomeRunBaker

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"Simply by being a PG."

Being able to run the point is a big thing.
It’s also not really true since Brunson’s leap a year and a half ago.

Splitting hairs in choosing one over the other but I’d lean Tatum with what he brings defensively over Luka.
 

Cesar Crespo

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It’s also not really true since Brunson’s leap a year and a half ago.

Splitting hairs in choosing one over the other but I’d lean Tatum with what he brings defensively over Luka.
I think they'd might be the best pairing in the NBA, though it'll never happen.
 

Jimbodandy

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Agreed.

Luka and JT is a toss-up offensively (maybe Luka by a hair). The biggest differentiator is Tatum's +++ defense and Luka's below-average D. We've all witnessed Luka getting targeted in playoff games, right?

Unless you incessantly follow Tatum/Celtics, like most of us do around here, you may not realize how exceptional he is at D. The mainstream NBA media (JVG, Doris, ESPN talking heads, etc) are still stuck on Tatum/Brown as good defensive wings, when we know they are night/day on D. That's just one clue they don't follow Boston close enough. JT's perimeter defense is Top5 and better than Smart IMO. For example, he's long enough to challenge Durant jumpers and is fundamentally sound/quick enough to guard Trae Young on the perimeter (DEF FG% reflects this)

Another head-scratcher is the NBA media will cite +/- at halftime of a game BUT then willfully ignore 4-5 separate years of data. They cite team point differential at the end of the season, yet don't bother connecting the dots by including the one stat (player +/-) that impacts it the most o_O

One last note, if you look at PBS acquisitions you'll notice he adds players that consistently have good ON/OFF. Horford/White/Gallinari, over their careers, have all excelled on +/-. Unsurprisingly, the NBA media didn't get terribly excited about those acquisitions. Brad seems to value that stat and is probably why we won't see Marcus Smart dealt
Great post.

Only thing I'd add is the general groupthink on defense is still unevolved:
1. DPoY candidates
2. Everyone else
3. Black holes of suck

Most folks get that Luka isn't a stud and that Tatum isn't bad. But the ~2 DARKO defensive gulf between these guys is significant and impacts winning.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I think a lot of the Luka> Tatum stuff is due to Tatum having a better cast. Luka "carries" a team of role players .
 

bigq

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I think a lot of the Luka> Tatum stuff is due to Tatum having a better cast. Luka "carries" a team of role players .
Agree with this and it would be fascinating to see an alternate reality where they switched teams and how they would perform. Obviously they play different positions but they are both so good I think they could easily fit in with any team. I am biased however I don’t think it is debatable at this time that Tatum is a much better all around player however I also have clear memories of Luka single handedly slaying the Celtics on a couple of occasions.
 

Jimbodandy

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Agree with this and it would be fascinating to see an alternate reality where they switched teams and how they would perform. Obviously they play different positions but they are both so good I think they could easily fit in with any team. I am biased however I don’t think it is debatable at this time that Tatum is a much better all around player however I also have clear memories of Luka single handedly slaying the Celtics on a couple of occasions.
Both are so good that they would still be awesome if moved for each other or headlined different teams for sure.

Nobody here thinks that Luka sucks. I just think that we appropriately deduct some points for poor defense, just like we do for other bad-but-not-catastrophically bad defenders. Guys like Donovan Mitchell and Kyrie give back points too, and that should factor into the rankings. Doesn't mean that they're not great players.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Both are so good that they would still be awesome if moved for each other or headlined different teams for sure.

Nobody here thinks that Luka sucks. I just think that we appropriately deduct some points for poor defense, just like we do for other bad-but-not-catastrophically bad defenders. Guys like Donovan Mitchell and Kyrie give back points too, and that should factor into the rankings. Doesn't mean that they're not great players.
But we also casually dismiss the difference in playmaking, pretending the gap is smaller than it is. "Luka only gets more assists because he plays PG." There's a lot of value in that. And play making goes beyond APG.

They are 1a and 1b. Not 1 and 2.
 

Jimbodandy

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But we also casually dismiss the difference in playmaking, pretending the gap is smaller than it is. "Luka only gets more assists because he plays PG." There's a lot of value in that. And play making goes beyond APG.

They are 1a and 1b. Not 1 and 2.
That happens.

I definitely don't dismiss the playmaking difference. It's real and Luka is good at it.

The offensive impact metrics still say that these guys are in the same ballpark offensively though. I'd definitely listen to an argument that it's difficult to separate defensive impact from offensive numbers. For example, maybe Luka's bad defense leads to too many easy baskets and cuts down on his own team's ability to get easy transition hoops, while Tatum's good defense ends in runouts for him and others.

Even if one thinks that the numbers are whack and Luka is clearly a better offensive player because playmaking and jag teammates, it should be obvious that the sizeable difference in defensive impact makes Tatum the better overall player.

Whether you think that they're 1-2 or 1A-1B depends on how you value defense imo.
 

radsoxfan

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I think one lingering question with Luka is, can he get into top NBA shape? Obviously it’s a struggle for him.

He’s clearly great even now, but he has more room for improvement there compared to someone like Tatum.

I don’t think Luka is ever going to be DPOY, but to echo Jimbodandy, there is a lot of gray area. He has a much better chance to be average or a bit above average compared to someone like Trae.

I think getting in better shape would also improve his consistency on offense as well. Time will tell I suppose.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I think one lingering question with Luka is, can he get into top NBA shape? Obviously it’s a struggle for him.

He’s clearly great even now, but he has more room for improvement there compared to someone like Tatum.

I don’t think Luka is ever going to be DPOY, but to echo Jimbodandy, there is a lot of gray area. He has a much better chance to be average or a bit above average compared to someone like Trae.

I think getting in better shape would also improve his consistency on offense as well. Time will tell I suppose.

If Luka really wants to win, he will start taking his fitness more seriously. He may have room for more improvement than Tatum but he also has room for more failure. The struggle with weight can go both directions.

At the very least, I think Luka can be hidden with the right personal. I also think defense is one of those things that's enhanced by your teammates quite a lot. Making up a generic stat, but if Tatum on a generic team is worth 2.0 Crespo points, that goes up to 3.0 Crespo's if TL and MS are playing with him. They also get a similar bump with Tatum. I don't know if this is actually true or can be disproven one way or another. I just remember when KG came along, all of a sudden PP and Ray Allen were a lot better at defense too. Long winded way of saying if you put Luka on this Celtics team, maybe he is an average to above average defender. He'd be put in a position to succeed, anyway.

I don't know who I would take, honestly. I'd be really happy with either one. I think if you put both on a team full of the same average players, Luka would lead them to more wins. I'm not sure why that matters though, because a team of average players and either Tatum or Luka isn't winning anything. Like, maybe Luka makes the players around him better but the players around Tatum make Tatum better, like better enough to offset the difference.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I think a lot of the Luka> Tatum stuff is due to Tatum having a better cast. Luka "carries" a team of role players .
Right. Much of his defensive indifference seems to come as a result of him taking plays off on that end of the floor to save himself for this reason.
 

snowmanny

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Unless you incessantly follow Tatum/Celtics, like most of us do around here, you may not realize how exceptional he is at D.
Remember Beverly being surprised (after the Nets series) when Reddick described Tatum as a plus defender?
 

benhogan

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Remember Beverly being surprised (after the Nets series) when Reddick described Tatum as a plus defender?
How can we forget?
Pat Bev on ESPN was a train wreck, had to take a listen for a laugh but knew it was going to be jammed full of BevTakedowns

Calling CP3 a traffic cone was my personal favorite
 

RorschachsMask

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View: https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1556688110259421186?s=20&t=_udOcSZAh-D__xyqnUU3og

Watching Jayson Tatum get past Giannis Antetokounmpo, Durant and Butler in last year’s playoffs before running out of steam in the Finals almost felt like a passing of the torch, one that established Tatum as the best swingman in basketball.

Our panel saw it that way, at least, as four of our eight voters had Tatum as the No. 1 small forward for the upcoming 2022-23 season. It’s easy to see why, too, as the former Duke standout averaged 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting 45.3 percent from the floor in what was merely his Age-23 season.

With room left to grow and the confidence after his Finals run acting as the wind in his sails, we expect an even better version of Tatum next year, which is why we landed with him at No. 1 on this list.
 

Cellar-Door

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I'm guessing they have Jaylen as what? A SG? Seems foolish for him to not be listed as a SF
The distinctions are generally dumb, but if you're going to make them he's a SG, generally with starters putting them in the position at which they start makes the most sense.
 

Sam Ray Not

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The distinctions are generally dumb, but if you're going to make them he's a SG, generally with starters putting them in the position at which they start makes the most sense.
That’s fair, though if the HoopsHype guys are going to be technical about “nominal starting position,” they also need to take either Kawhi or PG off their list.

I also consider both KD and LeBron both more 4 than 3 at this point. I’ll be surprised if either one plays the majority of his minutes this season alongside two big men, but we shall see.

Kinda thought Maple Jordan would get more love after putting up a net +13.2 in the playoffs as the #2 guy for the ‘22 Champions — capped off by holding his own head-to-head v. Luka and Tatum, the two best young players in the league. But I guess old skepticism dies hard. If he can continue to be the elite defender and anywhere near the 7.7 per 36 rebounder he was for 22 games in the playoffs, he should be considered ahead of a few of those guys
 

HomeRunBaker

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I'm guessing they have Jaylen as what? A SG? Seems foolish for him to not be listed as a SF
Why foolish? He was our starting SG all of last season. Sure wing positions are generally interchangeable today but he was matched up with pure 2’s for those matchups.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Kinda thought Maple Jordan would get more love after putting up a net +13.2 in the playoffs as the #2 guy for the ‘22 Champions — capped off by holding his own head-to-head v. Luka and Tatum, the two best young players in the league.
#2 guy? I thought GSW considered more of a #4, which is a great luxury to have. Also while he played great defense on JT and Luka, didn't really see this as a head-to-head matchup.

But that's with green glasses on. :)
 

Sam Ray Not

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#2 guy? I thought GSW considered more of a #4, which is a great luxury to have. Also while he played great defense on JT and Luka, didn't really see this as a head-to-head matchup.

But that's with green glasses on. :)
Well, he was #4 in offensive usage (after Steph, Klay, Poole), but pretty clearly their #2 best and most consistent player in the playoffs, overall. Dray, Klay. and Poole were all pretty erratic. Wiggs was #2 on the team in minutes, #1 in blocks, #2 in rebounds; and he tirelessly guarded the other team’s best player in every series except the Denver one. Was also #2 among all NBA players in offensive rebounds in the playoffs (after … Kevon Looney).

I’d be interested to see how far down HoopsHype put him. For one, I’d find it tough to rank Mikal Bridges over him, given Wiggins has a much more advanced offensive game off the bounce AND showed himself in the playoffs to be a much stronger, more capable defender of Luka. After mostly steamrolling Bridges, Luka found much tougher sledding v. Wiggs. (Same deal with Tatum’s performances v. Durant and v. Wiggins, though I think I some of that was that Tatum was pretty gassed and possibly injured by the time he faced Wiggins).

Also…
 
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slamminsammya

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Well, he was #4 in offensive usage (after Steph, Klay, Poole), but pretty clearly their #2 best and most consistent player in the playoffs, overall. Dray, Klay. and Poole were all pretty erratic. Wiggs was #2 on the team in minutes, #1 in blocks, #2 in rebounds; and he tirelessly guarded the other team’s best player in every series except the Denver one. Was also #2 among all NBA players in offensive rebounds in the playoffs (after … Kevin Looney).

I’d be interested to see how far down HoopsHype put him. For one, I’d find it tough to rank Mikal Bridges over him, given Wiggins has a much more advanced offensive game off the bounce AND showed himself in the playoffs to be a much stronger, more capable defender of Luka. After mostly steamrolling Bridges, Luka found much tougher sledding v. Wiggs. (Same deal with Tatum’s performances v. Durant and v. Wiggins, though I think I some of that was that Tatum was pretty gassed and possibly injured by the time he faced Wiggins).
Small point that doesn't detract from your argument - I don't think offensive boards on the Warriors are a product of any particular player's skill as much as the result of desperate blitzing and switching drawing multiple bigs to Curry or Klay.
 

snowmanny

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Well, he was #4 in offensive usage (after Steph, Klay, Poole), but pretty clearly their #2 best and most consistent player in the playoffs, overall. Dray, Klay. and Poole were all pretty erratic. Wiggs was #2 on the team in minutes, #1 in blocks, #2 in rebounds; and he tirelessly guarded the other team’s best player in every series except the Denver one. Was also #2 among all NBA players in offensive rebounds in the playoffs (after … Kevon Looney).

I’d be interested to see how far down HoopsHype put him. For one, I’d find it tough to rank Mikal Bridges over him, given Wiggins has a much more advanced offensive game off the bounce AND showed himself in the playoffs to be a much stronger, more capable defender of Luka. After mostly steamrolling Bridges, Luka found much tougher sledding v. Wiggs. (Same deal with Tatum’s performances v. Durant and v. Wiggins, though I think I some of that was that Tatum was pretty gassed and possibly injured by the time he faced Wiggins).

Also…
Luka had an 18 inch vertical there
 

HomeRunBaker

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its is silly

Brad has been using wing (SG, SF, PF), ball-handler (PG) and BIG (Center) for over 5 years now
It’s as much about what the opponent is using and who is defending which position. When teams play traditional 2’s it’s Jaylen matching up with that 2……not Horford or Tatum.
 

benhogan

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It’s as much about what the opponent is using and who is defending which position. When teams play traditional 2’s it’s Jaylen matching up with that 2……not Horford or Tatum.
If fans or media outlets want to use the old school: SG, SF, PF labels that's cool. Just think it's semantics
 

slamminsammya

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Has anyone else been seeing all these clips of Dejounte Murray being an absolute dick in these pro am summer games? The guy looks like a total bully it is really distasteful.
 

Jimbodandy

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It’s as much about what the opponent is using and who is defending which position. When teams play traditional 2’s it’s Jaylen matching up with that 2……not Horford or Tatum.
If fans or media outlets want to use the old school: SG, SF, PF labels that's cool. Just think it's semantics
Frankly, half of the reason why I laugh at such distinctions is that many teams, including the Celtics, switch everything on defense. And the team is built around that. So Jaylen or Marcus is covering the other team's 1, 2, or 3 quite often. And with basically every team running 8-10 deep through all of the regular season and like a solid 8 deep at least through the first round or two of the playoffs, most guys are effectively "playing" two positions for great lengths of time. JB is definitely getting more "2" minutes by far than anything else, but how the fuck does one categorize Marcus or Grant's minutes over the span of a month. Especially now that Brogdon has arrived.

Even calling guys "guards" is basically foolish nowadays in enough cases as to make that distinction nonsense, let alone "shooting guard". Everyone should go ahead and make their lists, but guys like Jaylen aren't ballhandlers or bigs--they're wings. Whether they play 2 or 3 is irrelevant. Dejounte led his team in assists by a metric fuckton, but he's listed as a SG. Whole thing is kinda wack.
 

JCizzle

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Has anyone else been seeing all these clips of Dejounte Murray being an absolute dick in these pro am summer games? The guy looks like a total bully it is really distasteful.
Yeah, I usually find it funny when NBA guys clown on amateurs that probably talk way too much shit and have it coming in good fun. For example, Scal beating the shit out of YMCA/D-III heroes a few years ago for a contest. However, in one of the clips Murray takes a ball and repeatedly smashes a dude in the head pretty hard. I'm not saying I would have done anything, but the defender had every right to take a shot at him after that IMO.
 

slamminsammya

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San Francisco
Yeah, I usually find it funny when NBA guys clown on amateurs that probably talk way too much shit and have it coming in good fun. For example, Scal beating the shit out of YMCA/D-III heroes a few years ago for a contest. However, in one of the clips Murray takes a ball and repeatedly smashes a dude in the head pretty hard. I'm not saying I would have done anything, but the defender had every right to take a shot at him after that IMO.
Yeah, the energy is decidedly not "in good fun". He also was going pretty hard at Banchero, who did not give it back at all and stayed very composed. He seems like an asshole right now.
 

RorschachsMask

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2011
5,199
Lynn
Unless you incessantly follow Tatum/Celtics, like most of us do around here, you may not realize how exceptional he is at D. The mainstream NBA media (JVG, Doris, ESPN talking heads, etc) are still stuck on Tatum/Brown as good defensive wings, when we know they are night/day on D. That's just one clue they don't follow Boston close enough. JT's perimeter defense is Top5 and better than Smart IMO. For example, he's long enough to challenge Durant jumpers and is fundamentally sound/quick enough to guard Trae Young on the perimeter (DEF FG% reflects this
Bumping this post just because Tatum’s defense has been a relatively big topic on nba Twitter today. This guy is an analyst for the volume, and posted this earlier. I disagree, but I do think Tatum is probably a top 5 perimeter defender in the league.

View: https://twitter.com/_JasonLT/status/1557128314828926977?s=20&t=tAD2bs2vR66VhYNpwJm0jA
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,111
Santa Monica
Bumping this post just because Tatum’s defense has been a relatively big topic on nba Twitter today. This guy is an analyst for the volume, and posted this earlier. I disagree, but I do think Tatum is probably a top 5 perimeter defender in the league.

View: https://twitter.com/_JasonLT/status/1557128314828926977?s=20&t=tAD2bs2vR66VhYNpwJm0jA
thanks for posting

Enjoyed Timpf in the playoffs, I'll have to see what his slant is...

BIG fans aren't going to like his rankings

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jx7Krk6UiY
 
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