Matrim55
Why is it so hard To make it in America
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- Feb 10, 2013
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Kemba has been crushing it with the Celtics. He's scored the most points over the first five games of anyone in C's history, and done so with a smile on his face. The biggest moment probably came last night in a win over the Knicks, when... he didn't even touch the ball!
Stevens ran the same play for Tatum at the end of the game (find him in the corner for a late jumper) that he ran at the end of the Orlando game last winter. Kyrie threw an absolute fit when he didn't get the last shot, while Kemba celebrated like a madman when Tatum got it and hit it. Literally the exact same play, but vastly different outcomes and leadership.
It is a joy to watch him on a winning team. I said in the other thread that I think they'll win between 55 and 60 games (they're 4-1 right now with wins over the Raptors & Bucks, two of the other top teams in the East), barring injury. Big month with a brutal schedule coming up, though.
FWIW I don't think there will be much (any) wheeling-and-dealing from Ainge, or even talk of such this year. They're going to ride with the team they've got, and hopefully with Hayward's return to health and some real improvement from Tatum and Brown, they have a "could maybe contend if things break right" ceiling.
Again: If you're a UConn fan but not an NBA fan, you should still carve out time to watch the Celtics a few times this year because it is an absolute joy to watch Kemba win.
The total opposite side of the coin is what's happening in Detroit, where Andre is the only ray of light right now. He has been an absolute monster with three 20/20 games in his first six, and by the boxscore stats, the eye test and the underlying metrics his defensive contributions have taken another large step forward (not just blocks, steals and defensive rebounds, but high-IQ defensive reads like at the end of last night's game – a game that the Pistons managed to blow anyway).
I'm going to stress this here, because I don't think people are aware of it: Through 15,000 NBA minutes, Andre is literally the greatest rebounder in League history in terms of % of rebounds he gets while he's on the court. Better than Wilt, Russ or Rodman. He is a force of nature on the boards.
Even with that from Andre, the Pistons are just brutally bad. It'll get better when Griffin and Jackson get back from injuries, but how long will they stay healthy? This is a lottery team, I suspect.
Andre's in a contract year, by the way. If he keeps playing like this he'll get a max from someone – probably Detroit, but maybe he'll want to leave that disaster of a franchise at the end of the year.
Jeremy was in a contract year last year and played very well for a bad Charlotte team. I'll admit I'm still surprised he only got 3 years/$31.5 million from Indiana, but if that bothered him he hasn't shown it. He's in the starting lineup for the Pacers with Oladipo out and is averaging 19/7/1.3 with 1 steal and a half a block per game so far, on 51% FG and 73% FT. That included a big 21/10 game last night.
He doesn't look like an all-star or anything, and Indiana are struggling a bit at 2-3 through five games, but "efficient starting SG on a team with playoff aspirations" is a pretty nice spot for him in his prime.
My guess is he becomes a sixth man when Oladipo comes back – assuming that Oladipo is the same guy he was before the knee injury.
I remain thrilled that Rudy ended up in San Antonio to play out his golden years under Pop. He has become the efficient, versatile scorer and defender that his talent always suggested he should be, and through five games is averaging 11/7.5/2.6 while shooting 49% from the floor and 77% from the line.
Pop primarily uses him as a 4, though he's guarded some 3 and some 5 as well. He is a swiss army knife on both sides, and is doing all of the above while having his minutes managed (22 mpg off the bench). It's the ideal role for him at this stage of his career, and the Spurs – who are 4-1 so far – are a decent bet to win 50+ games this year.
Shabazz has been brutal from the floor for Minnesota, shooting 30% overall (24% from 3), but despite that he's been a net positive because 1) he's getting to the line a ton, 2) his defense has been exceptional unless he's matched up against a giant (as happened vs. the Sixers), and 3) he's running the second unit like the high-IQ veteran PG he is. So his on/off splits have been exceptional despite his ice-cold shooting to start the year.
The Timberwolves already have two road wins and a good home win vs. the Heat to start the season (before all that fun against Philly the other night), and I'm sure the entire fanbase would've taken "3-1 with a ton of fight" for 2019/20 after last year's turd. Bazz getting 22 mpg in a meaningful role in the middle of all of it is, I'll admit, a very nice surprise.
Like Andre he's in a contract year. Unlike Andre he's making the league minimum. Would be nice to see him find his shot and earn a nice, guaranteed, 3-year contract somewhere.
That's it so far. Here's the list of guys who are expected to be on G-League rosters. The G-League tips off next week.
Stevens ran the same play for Tatum at the end of the game (find him in the corner for a late jumper) that he ran at the end of the Orlando game last winter. Kyrie threw an absolute fit when he didn't get the last shot, while Kemba celebrated like a madman when Tatum got it and hit it. Literally the exact same play, but vastly different outcomes and leadership.
It is a joy to watch him on a winning team. I said in the other thread that I think they'll win between 55 and 60 games (they're 4-1 right now with wins over the Raptors & Bucks, two of the other top teams in the East), barring injury. Big month with a brutal schedule coming up, though.
FWIW I don't think there will be much (any) wheeling-and-dealing from Ainge, or even talk of such this year. They're going to ride with the team they've got, and hopefully with Hayward's return to health and some real improvement from Tatum and Brown, they have a "could maybe contend if things break right" ceiling.
Again: If you're a UConn fan but not an NBA fan, you should still carve out time to watch the Celtics a few times this year because it is an absolute joy to watch Kemba win.
The total opposite side of the coin is what's happening in Detroit, where Andre is the only ray of light right now. He has been an absolute monster with three 20/20 games in his first six, and by the boxscore stats, the eye test and the underlying metrics his defensive contributions have taken another large step forward (not just blocks, steals and defensive rebounds, but high-IQ defensive reads like at the end of last night's game – a game that the Pistons managed to blow anyway).
I'm going to stress this here, because I don't think people are aware of it: Through 15,000 NBA minutes, Andre is literally the greatest rebounder in League history in terms of % of rebounds he gets while he's on the court. Better than Wilt, Russ or Rodman. He is a force of nature on the boards.
Even with that from Andre, the Pistons are just brutally bad. It'll get better when Griffin and Jackson get back from injuries, but how long will they stay healthy? This is a lottery team, I suspect.
Andre's in a contract year, by the way. If he keeps playing like this he'll get a max from someone – probably Detroit, but maybe he'll want to leave that disaster of a franchise at the end of the year.
Jeremy was in a contract year last year and played very well for a bad Charlotte team. I'll admit I'm still surprised he only got 3 years/$31.5 million from Indiana, but if that bothered him he hasn't shown it. He's in the starting lineup for the Pacers with Oladipo out and is averaging 19/7/1.3 with 1 steal and a half a block per game so far, on 51% FG and 73% FT. That included a big 21/10 game last night.
He doesn't look like an all-star or anything, and Indiana are struggling a bit at 2-3 through five games, but "efficient starting SG on a team with playoff aspirations" is a pretty nice spot for him in his prime.
My guess is he becomes a sixth man when Oladipo comes back – assuming that Oladipo is the same guy he was before the knee injury.
I remain thrilled that Rudy ended up in San Antonio to play out his golden years under Pop. He has become the efficient, versatile scorer and defender that his talent always suggested he should be, and through five games is averaging 11/7.5/2.6 while shooting 49% from the floor and 77% from the line.
Pop primarily uses him as a 4, though he's guarded some 3 and some 5 as well. He is a swiss army knife on both sides, and is doing all of the above while having his minutes managed (22 mpg off the bench). It's the ideal role for him at this stage of his career, and the Spurs – who are 4-1 so far – are a decent bet to win 50+ games this year.
Shabazz has been brutal from the floor for Minnesota, shooting 30% overall (24% from 3), but despite that he's been a net positive because 1) he's getting to the line a ton, 2) his defense has been exceptional unless he's matched up against a giant (as happened vs. the Sixers), and 3) he's running the second unit like the high-IQ veteran PG he is. So his on/off splits have been exceptional despite his ice-cold shooting to start the year.
The Timberwolves already have two road wins and a good home win vs. the Heat to start the season (before all that fun against Philly the other night), and I'm sure the entire fanbase would've taken "3-1 with a ton of fight" for 2019/20 after last year's turd. Bazz getting 22 mpg in a meaningful role in the middle of all of it is, I'll admit, a very nice surprise.
Like Andre he's in a contract year. Unlike Andre he's making the league minimum. Would be nice to see him find his shot and earn a nice, guaranteed, 3-year contract somewhere.
That's it so far. Here's the list of guys who are expected to be on G-League rosters. The G-League tips off next week.
