NBA November Thread

[HW611]

So far this season, Jokic shooting 92% from 3’ in.

70% from 3-10’

72% from 10-16

100%(!!!) from 16-3P (2% of his shots).

Insanity

 

[Travelman6]

When's the last time 2 players on the same team got triple doubles? (Spurs). Impressed.

 

[ctbro1999]

Jokic is insane. Leads the league in rebounds and assists per game, and 5th in points. He could realistically pull off the triple crown (or whatever it's called in the NBA), leading the league in all 3.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Its just so frustrating watching a guy like Zubac play and wondering why Clingan can't model his game around a guy like that.

So many centers with a 3rd of his talent and doing amazing things in the league just by focusing on the right things.

6 of 27 which is good for 22% this month. On a shot that is 40% of his shots. Makes no sense for a 7’ to be allowed to waste his time with this.

Clingan doesn’t have the sheer strength Zubac has, and Zubac has better touch around the rim. Although DC hasn’t been shooting well from 3, over the last 5 or so games he hasn’t been shooting well from 2 either.

You look and see Kalkbrenner who dunks everything and is averaging 1.5x DC’s blocks and shooting 40% better from
the field and it kinda bums me out a little. DC needs to dunk more when he is down there because his base is weak right now. You’re almost 7’3, dunk the ball.

 

[Deepster]

Clingan doesn’t have the sheer strength Zubac has, and Zubac has better touch around the rim. Although DC hasn’t been shooting well from 3, over the last 5 or so games he hasn’t been shooting well from 2 either.

You look and see Kalkbrenner who dunks everything and is averaging 1.5x DC’s blocks and shooting 40% better from
the field and it kinda bums me out a little. DC needs to dunk more when he is down there because his base is weak right now. You’re almost 7’3, dunk the ball.

Donnie ended up 0 for 4 from 3 last night. Maybe I'm just not enough of an NBA guy but that doesn't seem to be using his skillset to it's fullest.

 

[HW611]

Clingan doesn’t have the sheer strength Zubac has, and Zubac has better touch around the rim. Although DC hasn’t been shooting well from 3, over the last 5 or so games he hasn’t been shooting well from 2 either.

You look and see Kalkbrenner who dunks everything and is averaging 1.5x DC’s blocks and shooting 40% better from
the field and it kinda bums me out a little. DC needs to dunk more when he is down there because his base is weak right now. You’re almost 7’3, dunk the ball.

Having a weak base would go hand and hand with struggling to make contested dunks.

All that time working on his 3 point shooting over the summer could've went to focusing on touch around the rim. This summer I hope he cuts that nonsense out and takes 1,000 hook shots and take the Zubac, Duren, Allen, etc. route of Bigs.

I'm not sure if there's a single European center that comes into the NBA without a competent post game/touch. They don't skip steps over there.

Clingan has all the ability to control the paint. His full focus needs to be mastering that before thinking about stepping out for a 3.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Donnie ended up 0 for 4 from 3 last night. Maybe I'm just not enough of an NBA guy but that doesn't seem to be using his skillset to it's fullest.

That just seems to be the way the Blazers want him to play right now. They’re off to a pretty good start, only team to beat the Thunder in fact.

I’m kinda just worried he will never have the ability on the low block, some bigs don’t ever get it really. Drummond never developed it either. It just always looks awkward for DC, he needs an offseason to really work on his base because he is moved too easily and doesn’t move anyone himself.

 

[NJHusky]

Having a weak base would go hand and hand with struggling to make contested dunks.

All that time working on his 3 point shooting over the summer could've went to focusing on touch around the rim. This summer I hope he cuts that nonsense out and takes 1,000 hook shots and take the Zubac, Duren, Allen, etc. route of Bigs.

I'm not sure if there's a single European center that comes into the NBA without a competent post game/touch. They don't skip steps over there.

Clingan has all the ability to control the paint. His full focus needs to be mastering that before thinking about stepping out for a 3.

It must be what the coaches want him to do. Not sure why?

 

[HW611]

That just seems to be the way the Blazers want him to play right now. They’re off to a pretty good start, only team to beat the Thunder in fact.

I’m kinda just worried he will never have the ability on the low block, some bigs don’t ever get it really. Drummond never developed it either. It just always looks awkward for DC, he needs an offseason to really work on his base because he is moved too easily and doesn’t move anyone himself.

The thing that annoys me about a comment like this is.

He's 7’3 and shooting 19% from 3 right now. That will be excused and encouraged to be worked on. He's clearly investing time in that as a focus. And he's been itching to do this since HS (we've seen the workout clips he's posted showing he can do this in HS).

But you're willing to write off his inside game as a 7’? That doesn't make sense to me.

Andre had similar maturity issues early on in his career where he wanted to show he can be a guard and shoot 3s more than figure out how to use his size and athleticism to dominate the paint.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

The thing that annoys me about a comment like this is.

He's 7’3 and shooting 19% from 3 right now. That will be excused and encouraged to be worked on. He's clearly investing time in that as a focus. And he's been itching to do this since HS (we've seen the workout clips he's posted showing he can do this in HS).

But you're willing to write off his inside game as a 7’? That doesn't make sense to me.

Andre had similar maturity issues early on in his career where he wanted to show he can be a guard and shoot 3s more than figure out how to use his size and athleticism to dominate the paint.

Again, you’re exaggerating my post. I said I am worried based on what I have seen, not that he simply cannot do it.

Also the last paragraph is incorrect, Andre averaged about 0.5 3PA per game once in his career, and that was 0.6. He just never developed a fluid post game. He became a good passer, if that’s what you want to refer to. But that’s not trying to be a guard.

 

[superjohn]

Jokic is insane. Leads the league in rebounds and assists per game, and 5th in points. He could realistically pull off the triple crown (or whatever it's called in the NBA), leading the league in all 3.

Last season he was third in scoring, second in assists, third in rebounds, and second in steals and they didn't even give him the MVP.

 

[HW611]

Again, you’re exaggerating my post. I said I am worried based on what I have seen, not that he simply cannot do it.

Also the last paragraph is incorrect, Andre averaged about 0.5 3PA per game once in his career, and that was 0.6. He just never developed a fluid post game. He became a good passer, if that’s what you want to refer to. But that’s not trying to be a guard.

He didn't play during a time that would let him take more. But if you followed his career (and even look at his HS film) you see him doing a lot of things where he tries to play like a big guard. He was jealous of Embiid at a point too and tried to develop his own 3 point game that coaches never let him use because, yeah get your big behind in the paint.

Clingan can be successful in the post if he put the time and energy into making that a focus. But that has to be his priority that he's serious about. Not wanting to be Steph.

Even when you look at some of the greatest stretch Bigs (Dirk and Jokic), they are also some of the greatest low post players ever, too. Especially in the midrange (Dirk’s one legged fade away, Jokic is literally shooting 70+% from midrange this year).

They didn't just automatically go to shooting 3s. Which is why it's so frustrating to see him even attempting these when his post game is lacking so much right now.

Hurley tried to teach him that here. But now that he's in the NBA he's trying to prove he could've been doing it all along instead of worrying about what made him so successful in the first place. Hurley was right to completely shut that down while he was here and have him focus on what he did.

@RuffRuff want to make sure I get credit for this!

 

[CardiacAndre7]

He didn't play during a time that would let him take more. But if you followed his career (and even look at his HS film) you see him doing a lot of things where he tries to play like a big guard. He was jealous of Embiid at a point too and tried to develop his own 3 point game that coaches never let him use because, yeah get your big behind in the paint.

Clingan can be successful in the post if he put the time and energy into making that a focus. But that has to be his priority that he's serious about. Not wanting to be Steph.

Even when you look at some of the greatest stretch Bigs (Dirk and Jokic), they are also some of the greatest low post players ever, too. Especially in the midrange (Dirk’s one legged fade away, Jokic is literally shooting 70+% from midrange this year).

They didn't just automatically go to shooting 3s. Which is why it's so frustrating to see him even attempting these when his post game is lacking so much right now.

Hurley tried to teach him that here. But now that he's in the NBA he's trying to prove he could've been doing it all along instead of worrying about what made him so successful in the first place. Hurley was right to completely shut that down while he was here and have him focus on what he did.

@RuffRuff want to make sure I get credit for this!

He didn’t need to because our spacing and offense was on such a level that there were simply better shots everywhere. NBA is totally different. And again, he’s not out there trying to “prove” he can do it as if he’s on a mission, the team wants him to take them obviously. He isn’t Jokic or Dirk where he can take guys off the dribble, so his game is gonna be within 3 feet of the rim and on the 3 point line inherently.

 

[Deepster]

Clingan can be successful in the post if he put the time and energy into making that a focus. But that has to be his priority that he's serious about. Not wanting to be Steph.

I'm not even sure he's going to be great in the low post. I always felt he was at his best running screen and rolls, passing into back cuts, getting lobs. More in motion stuff rather than back to the basket or posting up. Then again, I'm a short fat fiftysomething.

 

[HW611]

He didn’t need to because our spacing and offense was on such a level that there were simply better shots everywhere. NBA is totally different. And again, he’s not out there trying to “prove” he can do it as if he’s on a mission, the team wants him to take them obviously. He isn’t Jokic or Dirk where he can take guys off the dribble, so his game is gonna be within 3 feet of the rim and on the 3 point line inherently.

I don't know if there's anybody in the NBA who's game was ever built like this. Only guy I can think of off the top of my head is Okur.

The guys who tried to do this previously were players like Bol Bol and Mo Bamba.

 

[HW611]

I'm not even sure he's going to be great in the low post. I always felt he was at his best running screen and rolls, passing into back cuts, getting lobs. More in motion stuff rather than back to the basket or posting up. Then again, I'm a short fat fiftysomething.

All of this. It'll just be helpful if a defense does a good job of keeping him from getting a dunk on those rolls and he can still do a baby hook over them anyways because he's 7’3.

 

[aceboon]

It would be nice if DC had a low post game but it's not a requirement for him to be successful on offense. As good as he is on the offensive glass DC could walk into 8 points just off of cleaning up there but he's so soft around the rim that he basically negates an advantage he should have there.

 

[HW611]

It would be nice if DC had a low post game but it's not a requirement for him to be successful on offense. As good as he is on the offensive glass DC could walk into 8 points just off of cleaning up there but he's so soft around the rim that he basically negates an advantage he should have there.

To clarify, by post game I don't mean he needs to be Jokic or Joel. Just simple things like a drop step and hook shot.

Jalen Duren dropped a career high 33 about a week ago doing simple stuff… half of it was just constantly being available around the rim. Not hovering the 3 point line hoping he gets a chance to chuck one up.

Only one move in this highlight was an actual post up and it was a simple drop step. This is not some hard, complicated, impossible to learn stuff.

 

[HW611]

There's more actual post work in the Zubac highlights. But still, most of this stuff is just being around the rim and having a hook shot floater. This stuff is not complicated or hard to learn. I hope whoever is in DCs circle can get his head right this summer on what he should focus on and not end up like Drummond who has to tell kids to avoid having his mindset stories.

This kind of hook shot would be perfect with his lack of aggression at the rim. Especially for someone who is 7’3 with a 7’7 wingspan.

 

[aceboon]

To clarify, by post game I don't mean he needs to be Jokic or Joel. Just simple things like a drop step and hook shot.

Jalen Duren dropped a career high 33 about a week ago doing simple stuff… half of it was just constantly being available around the rim. Not hovering the 3 point line hoping he gets a chance to chuck one up.

Only one move in this highlight was an actual post up and it was a simple drop step. This is not some hard, complicated, impossible to learn stuff.

I agree with you

 

[superjohn]

Just moved to second in Vegas MVP odds and third on Kia MVP tracker, what an absolute joke. He's by far the best player in the world. At this point he could be #1 in every category and they still won't give him another MVP.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Just moved to second in Vegas MVP odds and third on Kia MVP tracker, what an absolute joke. He's by far the best player in the world. At this point he could be #1 in every category and they still won't give him another MVP.

It’s ~10 games in, don’t get too worried about lists and odds.

 

[husky429]

Just moved to second in Vegas MVP odds and third on Kia MVP tracker, what an absolute joke. He's by far the best player in the world. At this point he could be #1 in every category and they still won't give him another MVP.

Joker's skill level is the best the NBA has ever had.

 

[Mr. French]

It’s ~10 games in, don’t get too worried about lists and odds.

I was just going to post something similar but more snarky. He’s panicking over Vegas odds 2 weeks into the season haha

 

[superjohn]

It’s ~10 games in, don’t get too worried about lists and odds.

I'm worried about it because of what we've seen in the past. He had the best offensive season we've ever seen last season and didn't win. He's going to up it this season like he always does and I still don't think it will be enough for voters.