Minnesota Sports Forum

Looney is very solid defensively. One of these guys that has great base strength and tends to hold his ground quite well. I do wonder though how he'd do on nearly any other team. He is starting next to one of the best PFs of all time in Draymond Green.

Q-was-here wrote:Looney is very solid defensively. One of these guys that has great base strength and tends to hold his ground quite well. I do wonder though how he'd do on nearly any other team. He is starting next to one of the best PFs of all time in Draymond Green.

Idk how he played on a whole this year but sometimes he pretty much disappears and does nothing. He isn't much a threat to score but he does pass well at times. I see he really rebounded the ball well in the regular season and played 80 games. Staying healthy has been one of his problems. Anyway the Warriors are always better when they have a defensive big that can play 20-25 quality mpg. I mean that sounds obvious but there have been times they haven't had that. If Wiseman ever gets healthy and can offer something decent on offense it would really help especially with the emergence of Poole. They don't need Wiseman to put up 20ppg or even 16ppg.

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:Dallas is beginning to remind me a little of those Harden-led Houston teams that relied really heavily on iso-ball with a super high usage star in Harden surrounded by a bunch of catch and shoot guys. Luka is basically a bigger version of Harden in this case.

Seems like that kind of offense eventually runs into a team that figures out a way to stop it. That certainly happened last night. It's a long series though!

I hadn't thought of that, but you have a point. For me, it's more about the Warriors. I just love they way they play! Watching the Warriors play reveals the true beauty of basketball. I hope Finchy is watching and studying.

It goes back to the 2015 Warriors and that core 3 of Curry, Klay, and Green. None of those guys are elite in isolation, so they rely on off ball movement and quick-strike passes to create open looks. It is a thing of beauty.

For other teams, it's just more efficient to clear out and hunt for the mis-match - Kyrie, Luka, LeBron, Harden, Giannis, and probably Ant someday. Luka is just such an extreme, like Harden, that the offense really lacks diversity.

I agree, Q. The Harden model takes the mis-match iso approach to an extreme and that seems to be the model we're seeing with Luka and the Mavs. I see your point about the efficiency of clearing out and hunting for the mis-match when you have a great iso player, which you rightly noted could be Ant someday. But I'd love to see Finchy break the mold and blend that approach with the Warriors' ball-movement/motion approach. I've noticed that the Wolves tend to play that way when JMac is running the point.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Luka (Harden) iso ball is one of the reasons I'm not entertained watching them play. I simply don't like the never-ending quest to hunt for favorable matchups. I dig crisp movement and passing infinitely more.

And while I get why people don't like Draymond's antics or even Curry's stuff after buckets or that they've been good for a long time... the way Golden State plays should continue to be celebrated. We're going to miss it if it goes away entirely.



[Note: And it's why Boston is achieving so much success defensively right now. They can essentially switch all five starters (and one or even two bench guys) at any time. They were built specifically to negate the "hunt for switches iso ball" type of teams.]

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:Dallas is beginning to remind me a little of those Harden-led Houston teams that relied really heavily on iso-ball with a super high usage star in Harden surrounded by a bunch of catch and shoot guys. Luka is basically a bigger version of Harden in this case.

Seems like that kind of offense eventually runs into a team that figures out a way to stop it. That certainly happened last night. It's a long series though!

I hadn't thought of that, but you have a point. For me, it's more about the Warriors. I just love they way they play! Watching the Warriors play reveals the true beauty of basketball. I hope Finchy is watching and studying.

It goes back to the 2015 Warriors and that core 3 of Curry, Klay, and Green. None of those guys are elite in isolation, so they rely on off ball movement and quick-strike passes to create open looks. It is a thing of beauty.

For other teams, it's just more efficient to clear out and hunt for the mis-match - Kyrie, Luka, LeBron, Harden, Giannis, and probably Ant someday. Luka is just such an extreme, like Harden, that the offense really lacks diversity.

I agree, Q. The Harden model takes the mis-match iso approach to an extreme and that seems to be the model we're seeing with Luka and the Mavs. I see your point about the efficiency of clearing out and hunting for the mis-match when you have a great iso player, which you rightly noted could be Ant someday. But I'd love to see Finchy break the mold and blend that approach with the Warriors' ball-movement/motion approach. I've noticed that the Wolves tend to play that way when JMac is running the point.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Luka (Harden) iso ball is one of the reasons I'm not entertained watching them play. I simply don't like the never-ending quest to hunt for favorable matchups. I dig crisp movement and passing infinitely more.

And while I get why people don't like Draymond's antics or even Curry's stuff after buckets or that they've been good for a long time... the way Golden State plays should continue to be celebrated. We're going to miss it if it goes away entirely.



[Note: And it's why Boston is achieving so much success defensively right now. They can essentially switch all five starters (and one or even two bench guys) at any time. They were built specifically to negate the "hunt for switches iso ball" type of teams.]

Yup, Boston has managed to construct the nearly perfect defense for the modern day game. 5-10 years ago Grant Williams would have been a 'tweener - a negative label when assessing prospects - too slow and unathletic to play SF and too short to play PF. But now he thrives as a 4 because he combines strength, quick feet, and a reliable 3-ball. He can match up against bigs or wings. He's like a younger version of PJ Tucker I guess.

They really missed Horford and Smart in game 1, but they were back for game 2 and just took Miami apart.

Q-was-here wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:Dallas is beginning to remind me a little of those Harden-led Houston teams that relied really heavily on iso-ball with a super high usage star in Harden surrounded by a bunch of catch and shoot guys. Luka is basically a bigger version of Harden in this case.

Seems like that kind of offense eventually runs into a team that figures out a way to stop it. That certainly happened last night. It's a long series though!

I hadn't thought of that, but you have a point. For me, it's more about the Warriors. I just love they way they play! Watching the Warriors play reveals the true beauty of basketball. I hope Finchy is watching and studying.

It goes back to the 2015 Warriors and that core 3 of Curry, Klay, and Green. None of those guys are elite in isolation, so they rely on off ball movement and quick-strike passes to create open looks. It is a thing of beauty.

For other teams, it's just more efficient to clear out and hunt for the mis-match - Kyrie, Luka, LeBron, Harden, Giannis, and probably Ant someday. Luka is just such an extreme, like Harden, that the offense really lacks diversity.

I agree, Q. The Harden model takes the mis-match iso approach to an extreme and that seems to be the model we're seeing with Luka and the Mavs. I see your point about the efficiency of clearing out and hunting for the mis-match when you have a great iso player, which you rightly noted could be Ant someday. But I'd love to see Finchy break the mold and blend that approach with the Warriors' ball-movement/motion approach. I've noticed that the Wolves tend to play that way when JMac is running the point.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Luka (Harden) iso ball is one of the reasons I'm not entertained watching them play. I simply don't like the never-ending quest to hunt for favorable matchups. I dig crisp movement and passing infinitely more.

And while I get why people don't like Draymond's antics or even Curry's stuff after buckets or that they've been good for a long time... the way Golden State plays should continue to be celebrated. We're going to miss it if it goes away entirely.



[Note: And it's why Boston is achieving so much success defensively right now. They can essentially switch all five starters (and one or even two bench guys) at any time. They were built specifically to negate the "hunt for switches iso ball" type of teams.]

Yup, Boston has managed to construct the nearly perfect defense for the modern day game. 5-10 years ago Grant Williams would have been a 'tweener - a negative label when assessing prospects - too slow and unathletic to play SF and too short to play PF. But now he thrives as a 4 because he combines strength, quick feet, and a reliable 3-ball. He can match up against bigs or wings. He's like a younger version of PJ Tucker I guess.

They really missed Horford and Smart in game 1, but they were back for game 2 and just took Miami apart.

Yep. Miami targeted Payton Pritchard over and over again.

And that makes me sad. For me at least... many of my favorite players are those I can relate to in some way, even if only in relative height. I'm a PG guy through and through because I fell in love with the position many many years ago and still relish the opportunity to create offense and pass to teammates. But those guys might be getting phased out of the league in some ways. Can you imagine how often Steve Nash would be targeted in today's game?

It's the evolution of the modern athlete/basketball player.

Wiggins has been fantastic tonight so far - on both ends.

Why on earth is Steve Kerr and his assistants wearing masks!? They serve no purpose when they are constantly pulled down and around their neck as they bark out instructions to players or yell at refs.

Oh, I forgot that along with being a professional coach, Steve Kerr is a professional virtue signaler.

Q-was-here wrote:Why on earth is Steve Kerr and his assistants wearing masks!? They serve no purpose when they are constantly pulled down and around their neck as they bark out instructions to players or yell at refs.

Oh, I forgot that along with being a professional coach, Steve Kerr is a professional virtue signaler.

Lol. I was wondering the same thing. My favorite moment was when he pulled his mask down to talk to Jason Kidd. He had his mask over his face when he wasn't near anyone, but pulled it down when got right in Jason's face to talk to him. It was precisely opposite of what you would do if you really intended the mask to reduce transmission.

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:Why on earth is Steve Kerr and his assistants wearing masks!? They serve no purpose when they are constantly pulled down and around their neck as they bark out instructions to players or yell at refs.

Oh, I forgot that along with being a professional coach, Steve Kerr is a professional virtue signaler.

Lol. I was wondering the same thing. My favorite moment was when he pulled his mask down to talk to Jason Kidd. He had his mask over his face when he wasn't near anyone, but pulled it down when got right in Jason's face to talk to him. It was precisely opposite of what you would do if you really intended the mask to reduce transmission.

Exactly. I get annoyed when people do this. They pull down their masks when they enter an establishment or starts talking with people, which entirely defeats the purpose of wearing it in the first place.

Q-was-here wrote:Why on earth is Steve Kerr and his assistants wearing masks!? They serve no purpose when they are constantly pulled down and around their neck as they bark out instructions to players or yell at refs.

Oh, I forgot that along with being a professional coach, Steve Kerr is a professional virtue signaler.

He's a douche