thedoper wrote:Jamal Murray was fantastic tonight. What a great playoff run for him.
Yep. Murray's a stud. Jerami Grant was also great tonight.
I thought Murray played a bit of an uneven game while watching it. He seemed to make more poor decisions than normal last night.
But he also hit big shots, made sweet passes and filled the boxscore. I woke up really surprised at just how efficient he was. I still think he struggled throughout the game at times... but you'd never know it looking at his fantastic boxscore. He's definitely legit... which might be illustrated in guys like me pointing out his flaws in an otherwise great game/win.
I think LA's D is good. They were forcing him into some tough plays at times for sure. He found a way to figure it out and by the 4th when the rest of his team looked liked they wanted to give that game away he really stepped up. Denver has been such a fun team to watch this playoffs.
thedoper wrote:Jamal Murray was fantastic tonight. What a great playoff run for him.
Yep. Murray's a stud. Jerami Grant was also great tonight.
I thought Murray played a bit of an uneven game while watching it. He seemed to make more poor decisions than normal last night.
But he also hit big shots, made sweet passes and filled the boxscore. I woke up really surprised at just how efficient he was. I still think he struggled throughout the game at times... but you'd never know it looking at his fantastic boxscore. He's definitely legit... which might be illustrated in guys like me pointing out his flaws in an otherwise great game/win.
I think LA's D is good. They were forcing him into some tough plays at times for sure. He found a way to figure it out and by the 4th when the rest of his team looked liked they wanted to give that game away he really stepped up. Denver has been such a fun team to watch this playoffs.
Yeah, LA has solid D.
But let's not absolve Murray from the foibles during the comeback. He was a very large part of it...
But he definitely responded when needed. Two HUGE shots and that magnificent pass to Millsap sealed it.
We saw the importance of having a wing star/superstar on a playoff team. Jokic got the ball during the meltdown, but it was almost always against a set defense, with his back to the basket 20 feet from the hoop with a guy with a knee in his groin and an elbow in his back... and NOBODY on his team moving. There's only so much almost every 7 footer who's ever played hoops can do in that situation.
At least with a great wing, there's movement via the PnR or something to get them going downhill or in space of some sort. The defense is forced to move and react unlike when Jokic had it and everybody was just standing there... waiting.
That's why I believe Russell's improvement will be the biggest question mark with the Wolves re-re-re-rebuild.
thedoper wrote:Jamal Murray was fantastic tonight. What a great playoff run for him.
Yep. Murray's a stud. Jerami Grant was also great tonight.
I thought Murray played a bit of an uneven game while watching it. He seemed to make more poor decisions than normal last night.
But he also hit big shots, made sweet passes and filled the boxscore. I woke up really surprised at just how efficient he was. I still think he struggled throughout the game at times... but you'd never know it looking at his fantastic boxscore. He's definitely legit... which might be illustrated in guys like me pointing out his flaws in an otherwise great game/win.
I think LA's D is good. They were forcing him into some tough plays at times for sure. He found a way to figure it out and by the 4th when the rest of his team looked liked they wanted to give that game away he really stepped up. Denver has been such a fun team to watch this playoffs.
Yeah, LA has solid D.
But let's not absolve Murray from the foibles during the comeback. He was a very large part of it...
But he definitely responded when needed. Two HUGE shots and that magnificent pass to Millsap sealed it.
We saw the importance of having a wing star/superstar on a playoff team. Jokic got the ball during the meltdown, but it was almost always against a set defense, with his back to the basket 20 feet from the hoop with a guy with a knee in his groin and an elbow in his back... and NOBODY on his team moving. There's only so much almost every 7 footer who's ever played hoops can do in that situation.
At least with a great wing, there's movement via the PnR space of some sort. The defense is forced to move and react unlike when Jokic had it and everybody was just standing there... waiting.
That's why I believe Russell's improvement will be the biggest question mark with the Wolves re-re-re-rebuild.
Yep. Whether it's a SF, SG or PG, at least one of your team's stars needs to be a player who can create off the dribble.
lipoli390 wrote:It's so painful to watch Tyler Herro, the guy Cam would have drafted for the Wolves, blossom into a star as a rookie.
They absolutely nailed the Adebayo pick at #14 and then the Herro pick at #13. Now these two along with undrafted FA Duncan Robinson are three core pieces in their playoff run.
Also, Spoelstra has to go down as a hall of fame coach. That guy squeezes every ounce of potential out of his squads.
lipoli390 wrote:It's so painful to watch Tyler Herro, the guy Cam would have drafted for the Wolves, blossom into a star as a rookie.
They absolutely nailed the Adebayo pick at #14 and then the Herro pick at #13. Now these two along with undrafted FA Duncan Robinson are three core pieces in their playoff run.
Also, Spoelstra has to go down as a hall of fame coach. That guy squeezes every ounce of potential out of his squads.
Is that more painful than watching Wiggins and Towns not come close to realizing their potential?
lipoli390 wrote:It's so painful to watch Tyler Herro, the guy Cam would have drafted for the Wolves, blossom into a star as a rookie.
They absolutely nailed the Adebayo pick at #14 and then the Herro pick at #13. Now these two along with undrafted FA Duncan Robinson are three core pieces in their playoff run.
Also, Spoelstra has to go down as a hall of fame coach. That guy squeezes every ounce of potential out of his squads.
Is that more painful than watching Wiggins and Towns not come close to realizing their potential?
Yes, it's more painful. And by the way, it's a little over the top to suggest that Towns "hasn't come close" to realizing his potential. He's probably the best offensive big man in the game today and one of the League's best rebounders as well. He one of the League's best three-point shooters and low post scorers. He also hits his free throws. He's been a disappointment defensively and clearly hasn't reached his potential, but he can't be placed in the same category as Wiggins.
lipoli390 wrote:It's so painful to watch Tyler Herro, the guy Cam would have drafted for the Wolves, blossom into a star as a rookie.
Tyler Herro was the best player on the court last night... while playing next to Jimmy Butler and against Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. That's unreal to think about considering he's a 20-year old rookie.
And then we realize that Jamal Murray's scored the most points out of anybody during these playoffs... making big shot after big shot.
What did I do to anger the basketball gods? This post-season has been super fun to watch, but downright brutal in other ways. Good things are on the horizon for the Wolves, I think, but missed opportunities of the past are still haunting me.
lipoli390 wrote:It's so painful to watch Tyler Herro, the guy Cam would have drafted for the Wolves, blossom into a star as a rookie.
Tyler Herro was the best player on the court last night... while playing next to Jimmy Butler and against Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. That's unreal to think about considering he's a 20-year old rookie.
And then we realize that Jamal Murray's scored the most points out of anybody during these playoffs... making big shot after big shot.
What did I do to anger the basketball gods? This post-season has been super fun to watch, but downright brutal in other ways. Good things are on the horizon for the Wolves, I think, but missed opportunities of the past are still haunting me.
I wanted the Wolves to move Butler and picks to trade up for Doncic. Same kind of feeling but maybe not as bad as these guys were literally passed on by the Wolves versus having to trade up. Herro looks like he's going to be a superstar.
I wasn't against drafting Herro. But he wasn't my favorite. I wonder if Culver will turn up the notch about 5 levels and turn into a superstar as well. I don't think Miami would swap Culver for Herro now would they? ;p
lipoli390 wrote:It's so painful to watch Tyler Herro, the guy Cam would have drafted for the Wolves, blossom into a star as a rookie.
Tyler Herro was the best player on the court last night... while playing next to Jimmy Butler and against Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. That's unreal to think about considering he's a 20-year old rookie.
And then we realize that Jamal Murray's scored the most points out of anybody during these playoffs... making big shot after big shot.
What did I do to anger the basketball gods? This post-season has been super fun to watch, but downright brutal in other ways. Good things are on the horizon for the Wolves, I think, but missed opportunities of the past are still haunting me.
As a Wolves fan... and a lifelong Celtics fan... I do not like watching Tyler Herro right now.
But damn. He just keeps getting better. Ever since the restart... he's been an improved player. He's hit double figures in scoring 20 straight games, but he's also a decent rebounder and creator, too.
And it's not during the doldrums of fool's gold late-season games where half the teams are tanking or resting players or simply going through the motions. It's in the Conference Finals!
