markkbu wrote:Lip, at some point this season you need to stop complaining about Brewer. It should be pretty obvious to you that you don't have much objectivity on him. Among SFs that get significant playing time he is;
9th in ppg
5th in fg%
5th in steals
tied for 14th in 3PM
By any scoring efficiency standards that you want to use, he is in the top 10 in SFs.
He has held some of the best SFs in the league to very below average games. He is a very good defender
There are not many players in the league that run the break better than him. In tonight's game he got abused on a number of those breaks.
Brewer is doing amazingly well. You probably should pick another villain.
Agreed with markkbu.
By the way, like I said in a different thread, the refs were terrible tonight.
Forget Dwill vs. Dante, there is no way in hell that Hummel should be getting minutes ahead of Dwill... Are you fucking kidding me? Might as well just trade him for a bag of peanuts cuz that's all you're gonna get if you've got this guy getting minutes over him.
Defense was pathetic, couldn't find a couple of minutes Dieng to at the very least get some fouls in on the nuggets who were getting layup after layup?
I have to say that I will continue to wait for the end of the first 20 games, but it continues to be disturbing that this team looks unbeatable on some nights and ready to lose to just about any team the next.
Jeez guys, there's a lot of antagonism in this thread, especially for a team that looks pretty decent compared to the last several years. Let's all be a little less defensive and a little less accusatory.
I think lostwolf above put his finger on what concerns me, we have been inconsistent. And that's a reflection of the two points that started this thread--our defense is really suspect and we have a lack of depth.
Without defense, we rely on our shooting to win games. If the shots are falling we win, if they're not, we don't. We're not the sort of team that can grind out wins by shutting the other team down until our shots start falling. And that's what playoff teams need to be able to do. Miami, Chicago, Indiana, even Dallas a couple years ago with Chandler, and the Spurs last year. Without that defense, we'd go into the playoffs like D'Antoni Suns or Golden State (although GS seems to have discovered defense lately).
I had another good point here about depth, but my kids are whining. Gotta go. Just imagine I wrote something insightful about the need for depth. We don't know what Adelman sees in practice, but playing Muhammad and Dieng more in games could help them develop and then hopefully give us a little more depth. Then again, maybe they're just totally terrible and we wouldn't be winning these games if we relied on them too much. We just don't know.
I wanted a win tonight, but let's face it...it's tough to win in Denver. Professional basketball is a physically demanding game, and Denver and Utah have used their thin air to their advantage for years. Denver only lost 3 games at home last year, and Utah went 30-11 and missed the playoffs! This doesn't completely excuse our lack of help defense last night, but does provide a little perspective.
Ten games in is a good time to evaluate this team. I was optimistic coming in to the season, but this squad is better than I thought they would be. 6-4, with 3 very close losses and only one convincing loss to Golden State. And as others have pointed out, this team has exhibited a resilience that makes me think they will be in every game. I am thinking 55 wins, and a 4th or 5th seed with a playoff series against the Clippers. Here are some thoughts after 10 games:
Offense: We all thought they would be able to score, but now I think they have the potential to be a top three offense. They have the ability to score in so many ways...on the fast break with Corey/Kmart leaking out, inside with Pek, on back cuts with much improved motion and big man passing, and of course, on much improved 3-point shooting. Ricky's shooting is an issue, but he's now shooting 41% on threes, and that number is deflated by a few end of quarter 60 foot prayers (since Ricky often has the ball in his hands at quarter end). And he makes scoring so easy for his teammates. As I mentioned a couple days ago, Pek should share his salary with Ricky, because Ricky gives him so many easy layups. And the Kevins have to know that playing with Ricky gives them their best opportunity at wide open threes. And Brewer has provided much more offense than I was expecting coming into the season...very pleased with 14.7 PPG on 50% shooting.
Defense: Again the Wolves have exceeded my expectations. This is not going to be a great defensive team, but they also haven't looked like last night very often. There are a lot of positives on defense too. Ricky and Corey's ball-hawking efforts have resulted in the team ranking 4th in steals. And last night notwithstanding, the help defense has usually been there when a failed gambling steal has led to a potential defensive breakdown. Corey's on-the-ball defense has been extraordinary, already having had effective games against Melo and Durant. Love and Pek are never going to be rim protectors, but they both use their size well to be reasonably effective defensively, and Kevin is actually very good at "showing" on the perimeter...a very underrated disruptive defensive move. Further, Love and Pek have been solid in defensive rebounding, and limiting second chance points is an important part of defense.
But the real surprise for me has been Martin. He arrived with such a terrible defensive reputation, that I wanted to watch him closely live...and he really surprised me in the Clippers game. Granted he didn't have a very difficult assignment in Jared Dudley, but he worked hard all night, battled through screens and limited Dudley to one shot. Adelman has used Martin wisely. allowing Brewer to handle the more difficult wing, but it's clear that Martin's length alone makes him a better defensive option than Ridnour. The Wolves are middle of the pack defensively, giving up 101 points a game, but that number is elevated a little by their pace of play.
Bench: As everyone has noted on this board, the bench has been a huge disappointment. The way they dominated the starters in Mankato made me think that depth was going to be a major strength, but so far it has been our biggest weakness. Adelman's lack of trust in much of his bench is going to be a problem down the road if our reserves don't step up. Barea has provided moments of spark, like last night, but is prone to disastrous off-nights and hasn't shot threes like he is capable. Cunningham is limited on both sides of the court, and is ineffective if he is not hitting his mid-range shot, and is a terrible option as our 7th man Williams and Shved have clearly lost Adelman's confidence, and Rick also doesn't seem to want to play the rookies. Turiaf and Bud's return will help a lot, but one or two other reserves need to pick it up for this team to be really successful.
Regardless of results, it sure has been fun to watch this team this year. I'm not sure there is a more entertaining team in the league. Two top six scorers, a gifted pass-first point guard, and an aggressive ball-hawking defense. Even the losses have been fun to watch. 7-4 after pounding Boston tonight.
Pek has been one of the bigger disappointments for me thus far. He just has not been as effective as he should be, whether it's finishing bunnies, drawing fouls, or rebounding on both ends of the court. He's getting paid 12 mil?
Pek: 13 PPG, 9 RPG, 49% FG and 76% from the FT line. His defense is underrated, even if he's not a shotblocker. I think he's finding rhythm. I'll take those numbers all day from our center.
We didn't play hard enough last night, along with so many things that went in Denver's favor. Need to come out with our normal explosion in the first quarter tonight. That's where we normally win games early. Boston should not beat us tonight. Hopefully we can get the W tonight and follow it up with a win over Washington. I really want us to get a win streak going.
60WinTim wrote:Pek has been one of the bigger disappointments for me thus far. He just has not been as effective as he should be, whether it's finishing bunnies, drawing fouls, or rebounding on both ends of the court. He's getting paid 12 mil?
We really need Deing to develop quickly.
Pek's been my biggest disappointment of the starters too, Tim...in fact, my only disappointment of the starters. That said, he is still averaging 13 and 9, and his shooting percentage is slowly rising. And his passing has improved considerably...his give and go bounce pass to Love last night was a thing of beauty. But he will always be very limited in what he can provide. I would like to see him at 15 and 10, with a shooting percentage of 55% (compared to the 49% he has currently), and not take games off on his help defense like he did last night. His shooting percentage when he catches the ball more than 5 feet from the basket has to be around 25%. His low post game just isn't sophisticated enough to score efficiently on much other than layups and putbacks. Some of this is his fault for not using his superior strength to set up closer to the basket, but some of this is also on his teammates for giving him the ball in a place he isn't comfortable with. If they see him more than five feet from the basket and guarded, just don't pass to him. And if they do, Pek needs to look to pass rather than attempt a low percentage scoring move.
With a little more discipline on the offensive end combined with a little more effort on the offensive boards, Pek can easily be a high percentage 15 and 10 guy, and that would improve our scoring efficiency a lot.
You guys have watched the games. I hope you see that Pek gets fouled on a bunch of shot attempts that don't get called just because he's so damn big. Happened all last night with Hickson and Faried trying to guard him. I thought Mosgov played well on him, but the other two guys were constantly fouling and the refs ignored it. It's happened all season, but last night was pretty blatant in my opinion. For a guy that's 76% at the FT line, those are points that he's earning, but not receiving. Tough for Pek right now.
