He might be, but we don't really know that.
My guess it would mean the big needs to come out and contest, rather than laying back and clogging the lane.
Yeah, I just can't imagine what is being opened up here. Timelord gets the ball at the elbows, ok lets draw the big closer to him. Now what? If he's off the ball, he already has gravity with his lob threat, having him hang out in the midrange just seems to erase his greatest strength?
If he could consistently hit from the free throw circle, you could not play zone against the Celtics
Sometimes he has the ball more than 5 feet from the basket and the only pass available to him is to reset the offense. A reliable shot would be helpful in those situations. A post move would also be helpful to him in certain situations that come up in games. Probably the post move would be more helpful, but the uncontested jumper might be the easier to add.
It is an easier shot to develop mechanically as it isn’t contested nearly as much as a mid-range shot would be (where mechanics could be affected) so muscle memory would be built. My guess would be that the mental aspect would be the greatest challenge as far as building confidence for a guy like TL who has always had good mechanics shooting face up even at A&M but was never allowed to do so in games based on his role in the offense back then. That passivity seems to have carried over as he simply isn’t an aggressive offensive player.
Yes and No. I think his issue in college was confidence related as he’s always shown the mechanics, rotation and release to be a good face-up shooter. At A&M teams played almost exclusively zone to combat him and Tyler Davis on the low block. Even though his FT% was horrific there you could see that it was primarily mental as it wasn’t like he was Kidd-Gilchrist trying to shot put the ball through the hoop. Is it work ethic or psychological struggles? I don’t know but the physical skill appears to be there for him to grow in this area.
Yes - it is hard to envision a deal for Rob that returns equal or greater value back to the Celtics. I thought last night was one of his best games as a Celtic. He bodied up on Jokic at times in the 4th (something the C's usually don't ask him to do) and held his own, put up a 15-16 double-double with some assists, steals, and blocks, and appeared to be more fired up than he usually seems.
Yeah, Myles Turner was 4/80, so I'd guess he gets 20-23M if he hit FA this summer. Brad killed it on that one.
I think there was one other big question mark besides health: can he play 30 mins consistently without getting fatigued?
Trading TL would leave a pretty gaping hole at center, we'd basically only move him for a replacement. Assuming Embiid, Jokic and Bam are off the table, what about Gobert? Another report came out today about growing tension between Gobert and Mitchell:
Remember early in the year when he was contributing to our slow starts by admittedly pacing himself? It seems like he’s now figured out his rotations, how/when he will be used, and is expanding energy appropriately based on this knowledge.
I would not do TimeLord for Gobert straight up at this point. I get the durability concerns and that Gobert is a big upgrade defensively, but Rob is so young, has improved so much, and is so cheap. Jazz would have to sweeten the pot for me.
While Rudy's D is insanely good, I wouldn't argue with you at the moment given Rob and his contract.
Agree. More broadly, how many centers/big men in the league would you trade TL for right now, considering the blossoming superstar potential, young age, and incredible contract?
This stood out to me. I haven't seen the C's since the streak began and - thanks to EJ for the summaries - TL's play was a revelation yesterday. His body control has really advanced from the past. He was always baited into jumps and he seems to have figured out to stay grounded as long as possible. Also, he seems to have gotten used to the long minutes and not fighting fatigue anymore. Very impressive and that block and behind the back save are just incredible plays. Continues to be my favorite C to watch. Finally saw him lose the opening jump ball though.
The Jarrett Allen deal probably. TL has been better than Allen was last year, but is also 2 years older with some injury concerns so it balances out.
Yup, and trading for Rudy means you lose the opportunity to move the Al contract for a scoring wing/guard.
Jump balls are always funny. I think 50% of winning a jump ball is just getting the guess correct on when the ball will leave the ref's hand.
Everything but points and threes.
I'd say that's true of not just PER but all these BBRef stats. Just thought it was crazy to see that he's 1st in their ORating and 2nd in DRating. MVP!!!
Advanced stats in general love Rob, the LARAPM is trending up fast too. Him, Smart, White, Al, and especially Tatum are all advanced stat studs.
I had to look at the picture to remember what LARAPM was. First glance, it looked like LARP, and I was imagining Rob at King Richard's fair dressed as a king's guard.
My phone autocorrected it to LARP four straight times, almost gave up.
Even JB, who used to be much lower compared to conventional wisdom in many of the advanced stats, seems to be coming around.
Yeah, when this is the lowest average graded player (Jaylen has more consistent grades, Rob has higher peaks and lower valleys) with advanced stats, you likely have a pretty damn good team. Obviously advanced stats aren’t everything, and Jaylen is almost definitely this teams second best player. Though I will say I think you can make an argument that Rob is more important to the team.
The funny thing is he tips out numerous balls on offense and defense that doesn't get "stuffed onto a box score". PLUS he dissuades teams from attacking the rim and alters shots all over the floor
Both of those points tend to bode well for 1) his staying healthy and 2) him mainting value going forward.
When a team is beating other teams by 30 or so points, my guess is that advanced stats are going to be super happy.
Can I suggest that maybe having 2 BIGZ out there has helped TL stay on the court? He's obviously capable but banging against centers every night can't be great on the body.
I think that's a pretty fair comment.
AB of 3-4 seasons ago. YES!!!Still pining for Baynes, are you?
.000 3pt%
