Around the League - '24-25 Season

[FNG]

Detroit wins again! Damn, they are actually a pretty good team now. That's 8 out of 9.

Unbelievable...as of this morning, we own their draft pick! Detroit is a fun team, and we will get that first rounder (I still think next year though), but we need to put this win in perspective. Hapless Brooklyn isn't very good when healthy, and last night they were missing 3 or 4 starters (depending on whether Simmons is a starter or not) including D'Lo and both Cams...oh, the irony!

[AbeVigodaLive]

Oh, and Cleveland takes down OKC. Didn't watch it, but it looks like it was a good game. Nice to see ESPN feature a game without LeBron or Steph plastered all over their headlines and highlights.

I watched most of the 2nd half.

Two VERY GOOD teams. It was obvious that these two teams are at an entirely different level than the Timberwolves... and most of the league right now. Really good basketball.

[Q-is-here]

Oh, and Cleveland takes down OKC. Didn't watch it, but it looks like it was a good game. Nice to see ESPN feature a game without LeBron or Steph plastered all over their headlines and highlights.

I watched most of the 2nd half.

Two VERY GOOD teams. It was obvious that these two teams are at an entirely different level than the Timberwolves... and most of the league right now. Really good basketball.

And keep in mind that OKC and Cleveland are the opposite of big market coastal teams!

BTW, who is Cleveland's transcendent superstar? They have proven (along with Boston last year) that you don't need a perennial MVP or MVP-runner up to be absolutely dominant.

It's good to see smaller market non-coastal teams use front office smarts, patience, and coaching to achieve this level of success. It can be done!

[FNG]

Oh, and Cleveland takes down OKC. Didn't watch it, but it looks like it was a good game. Nice to see ESPN feature a game without LeBron or Steph plastered all over their headlines and highlights.

I watched most of the 2nd half.

Two VERY GOOD teams. It was obvious that these two teams are at an entirely different level than the Timberwolves... and most of the league right now. Really good basketball.

And keep in mind that OKC and Cleveland are the opposite of big market coastal teams!

BTW, who is Cleveland's transcendent superstar? They have proven (along with Boston last year) that you don't need a perennial MVP or MVP-runner up to be absolutely dominant.

It's good to see smaller market non-coastal teams use front office smarts, patience, and coaching to achieve this level of success. It can be done!

Yeah, such an interesting team. Donovan Mitchell is considered the face of the franchise, and he is very good. But I could make an argument for Garland, Allen, and Mobley being as effective or even more. And role players like Niang, Lavert, Okoro, Jerome, Wade and Merrill also provide great value. There's no question that the Cavs are far and away the deepest team in the Association. They have been very healthy this season, but I think they could withstand a couple key injuries better than all other teams.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Remember when the Timberwolves made a draft day trade allegedly hoping for Garland... and ended up with Culver instead?

Good times.

[rapsuperstar31]

Remember when the Timberwolves made a draft day trade allegedly hoping for Garland... and ended up with Culver instead?

Good times.

Would have changed everything, of course probably wouldn't have gotten Ant the next year since we would have gotten a different draft slot. Garland was my pick coming into that draft, and I really wanted him. In hindsight the Wolves were foolish to make the trade before the actual pick came up to see who was available. It was a move I would have expected out of Kahn and Kahn alone. We still could have gone with Colby White once Garland was off the board which would have been a good pick.

[Lipoli390]

I just noticed the Denver Nuggets are 21-15 and they beat the Clippers 126-103 playing without Jokic. That puts the recent narrow comeback Wolves win over the Clippers in perspective. I also noticed that Denver’s 2nd year guard, Julian Strawther, played 32 minutes and scored 16 points against the Clippers while 3rd year player, Christian Braun, played 28 minutes and scored 15 points. Strawther was the 29th pick in the 2023 draft while Braun was the 21st pick in the 2022 draft.

A few thoughts:

1. Many of us had written the Nuggets off, but I think they’re back in the mix of title contenders this season.

2. The Westbrook signing was a smart move.

3. The Nuggets continue to demonstrate that you build a sustainable contender through the draft - Jokic, Murray and Porter and now Braun and Strawther.

4. One lesson in what the Nuggets are doing is that when you draft young talent you like then play them! Strawther gets 32 minutes for a 21-15 team in an important game as a 22 year old 2nd player who was drafted at #29. Yet, our 23 year old 1st round pick, TSJ, can’t get any minutes on a .500 team. Even before his ankle injury the #8 pick in the 2024 draft was seeing very little playing team as our starting PG was struggling. Minott has finally seen some meaningful minutes, but still not much. Draft smart and they give the guys you draft the opportunity to play and improve. That’s the formula for sustained success - not hale Mary trades for high-priced vets.

5. Looking at how Braun has been contributing and how Strawther performed last night, I wonder whether Calvin Booth rather than TC was the guy to hire. . OK., that’s a bit over the top, but ….

[Q-is-here]

And here come the Kings.....

The Western Conference is like whack-a-mole. Just when one team is falling off (e.g. Golden State lost to Indiana tonight), another team starts surging.

Oftentimes firing the coach comes off as a lazy, path-of-least-resistance move for front offices to make when things aren't going well. It seems to have worked so far for the Kings!

[Lipoli390]

An excerpt from an ESPN article today:

Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks

After coming home to New York in a blockbuster trade on the eve of training camp, Towns has been better than anyone could've expected. He's averaging more than 25 points on a career-high 55% shooting, while leading the league in rebounding and helping drive New York to the league's No. 3-ranked offense. And while it's not exactly applicable to how he's playing in New York, his loss in Minnesota has also been palpably felt.

"He's been everything the Knicks were hoping for and more, and his absence has left a larger hole than the Wolves would've ever thought," one scout said. "That's how to win a trade."

[Lipoli390]

Another excerpt from the same ESPN article on surprise players this season:

Dyson Daniels, Atlanta Hawks

Daniels is playing a career-high 33 minutes per game for the Hawks after being stuck mostly on the bench the past two seasons in New Orleans, and with more shooting around him and a bigger role, his confidence on offense has grown dramatically, even as his shooting remains a work in progress.

At the same time, he's also leading the league in steals with 3.1 per game. And in one of the most remarkable defensive stats across the league, Daniels has 90 more deflections than De'Aaron Fox, who is second.

"So much of him, for me, is he's in a way better fit than he was in New Orleans," a scout said. "He never really got the opportunity to play there, and the fit was always bad. Now, he's playing with way more confidence in a way better environment."

When I think about the opportunity costs associated with the Gobert deal I think about my two favorite players in the 2022 NBA draft - Dyson Daniels and Jalen Williams. Both are having fantastic seasons with huge remaining upside. Both are around the same age as Ant and Jaden. We had the 19th pick in the 2022 draft. Dyson was drafted at #8, Williams at #12. We could have traded up for one or the other for a fraction of what we gave up to get Rudy and we’d also have financial and transactional flexibility we don’t have now. That’s how you build a sustainable title contender. The Rudy deal led to CBA cap hell and the KAT deal, which put us where we are now. The Wolves offense is bottom half in the League while the Knicks’ offense is ranked 3rd.