longstrangetrip wrote:Just a terrific game for Ricky...man, he's fun to watch these days!
I'm so happy that Thibs kept his starters in the game all the way to the final buzzer too...you never know when an opponent will stage a 16 point comeback in the final minute of a meaningless game, so you just can't be too careful.
(sorry, guys, I just couldn't resist...but you gotta admit it was a little weird!)
Just think he is playing the 5 guys that will be on the team next year for sure. Don't think he is putting any more resources into players that aren't on the team next year. It is fine as long as nobody gets hurt.
I don't mind that as well. They are not going to play games beyond mid April. So giving them developmental minutes now is warranted. Playing guys who won't be on the team next season is useless. I wonder what it means for Aldrich. Looks like Thibs does't care about him, looks like a possible trade candidate.
TheSP wrote:As much as I want to believe Rubio has figured it all out the change was so sudden and so dramatic that I just can't get over feeling like it's just a mirage. At this point I would have expected pigs to fly before Rubio became even a competent shooter, much less a true threat.
Somebody pinch me.
I think it's a combination of both being hot and some legit improvement picking up where he left off last season. Go back and look at his TS% last season vs. the first few years of his career - it was a career high. I think the fact he started off the year so tentative and so cold somehow made people forget that he wasn't THAT terrible before.
Benz and Peterson keep mentioning Ricky's elbow injury as to why Ricky's shooting was sub par earlier in the year. Maybe the outlier was the early part of the season not now.
Mstermisty wrote:Watching this replay I have to say I'm warming up to a Rubio/Dunn backcourt. Dunn is starting to look more like an Avery Bradley type player, just playing tough and making a lot of hustle plays. Combine that with Rubio shooting better and something may be brewing here for the future.
Marcus Smart.
Avery Bradley is smoother and more skilled. He's developed into a very good shooter. But Marcus Smart is considered just as important. He's the king of the "do-shit" guards right now. He's going to surpass Rubio's early career start for woeful shooting (he's around 36% fg), but Celtics fans still love the guy.
He's tenacious. A bulldog defensively who'll guard 1 - 4s on the court. And he seems to follow up a wayward shot with two bad ass tough guy or pest plays. That's my hope for Dunn. Right now, he's a poor man's version of Smart. The similarities are striking. Ideally, I like that type of guy coming off the bench. And I think there's a definite spot for Dunn to develop into that here.
I do not think this Ricky is a mirage. He is now proving he can semi-regularly (which is way better than rarely) knock down open jumpers and defenses have to account for him. With Zach back in the lineup, Ricky wont have to score as much but hopefully will maintain the confidence to score when needed. That is something HE NEVER used to be able to do. Imagine if Ricky scores 12-14 with the other 3 but could go for 20-25 when needed. We are so much more dangerous with that weapon.
Then there is still the defensive side of the ball...
Ummm... it was a bit too obvious for it not to be a bit awkward as the game went on. There were about 4 or 5 times when he and a teammate battled for a board, only for the smaller player to end up with it. Towns grew more frustrated and flailed his arms in frustration late when he failed to corral a rebound.
I know players follow stats. I know they care about them. After all, that's how they get paid. (I don't think most fans realize just how important they are to many of these guys.) I've had the suspicion that Towns has been hunting for stats previously, but last night... it was really really obvious. Again, a lot of players do their own version of this, whether it's avoiding long end-of-quarter heaves (to comical extremes) to protect the field goal percentage, padding assists, rebounds, et al.
But as noted, it's a bit uncomfortable watching from home when it's so obvious.
Ummm... it was a bit too obvious for it not to be a bit awkward as the game went on. There were about 4 or 5 times when he and a teammate battled for a board, only for the smaller player to end up with it. Towns grew more frustrated and flailed his arms in frustration late when he failed to corral a rebound.
I know players follow stats. I know they care about them. After all, that's how they get paid. (I don't think most fans realize just how important they are to many of these guys.) I've had the suspicion that Towns has been hunting for stats previously, but last night... it was really really obvious. Again, a lot of players do their own version of this, whether it's avoiding long end-of-quarter heaves (to comical extremes) to protect the field goal percentage, padding assists, rebounds, et al.
But as noted, it's a bit uncomfortable watching from home when it's so obvious.
That's interesting about KAT, I noticed it one time when I believe Dunn grabbed a board they both could have had. It brings to mind Wiggins and his rebounding numbers. It's been proven he does a good job on contested rebounds. And he NEVER takes a rebound away from a teammate, always deferring when it's clear the team is going to get possession. I think he could easily add two more boards per game by simply taking "his turn". Frankly I think the diatribe about his poor rebound numbers is a bunch of malarkey.
CoolBreeze44 wrote: And he NEVER takes a rebound away from a teammate, always deferring when it's clear the team is going to get possession. I think he could easily add two more boards per game by simply taking "his turn". Frankly I think the diatribe about his poor rebound numbers is a bunch of malarkey.
Agreed. Wasn't Love the guy that took every uncontested rebound?
CoolBreeze44 wrote: And he NEVER takes a rebound away from a teammate, always deferring when it's clear the team is going to get possession. I think he could easily add two more boards per game by simply taking "his turn". Frankly I think the diatribe about his poor rebound numbers is a bunch of malarkey.
Agreed. Wasn't Love the guy that took every uncontested rebound?
Every one. He would go all out to get missed free throws too.
Ummm... it was a bit too obvious for it not to be a bit awkward as the game went on. There were about 4 or 5 times when he and a teammate battled for a board, only for the smaller player to end up with it. Towns grew more frustrated and flailed his arms in frustration late when he failed to corral a rebound.
I know players follow stats. I know they care about them. After all, that's how they get paid. (I don't think most fans realize just how important they are to many of these guys.) I've had the suspicion that Towns has been hunting for stats previously, but last night... it was really really obvious. Again, a lot of players do their own version of this, whether it's avoiding long end-of-quarter heaves (to comical extremes) to protect the field goal percentage, padding assists, rebounds, et al.
But as noted, it's a bit uncomfortable watching from home when it's so obvious.
That's interesting about KAT, I noticed it one time when I believe Dunn grabbed a board they both could have had. It brings to mind Wiggins and his rebounding numbers. It's been proven he does a good job on contested rebounds. And he NEVER takes a rebound away from a teammate, always deferring when it's clear the team is going to get possession. I think he could easily add two more boards per game by simply taking "his turn". Frankly I think the diatribe about his poor rebound numbers is a bunch of malarkey.
2 per game?
Ummm... no. Wiggins is a poor rebounder all things considered. It is what it is.
