GDT: Minnesota vs. Golden State

[FNG]

Yeah, like him or not, you can't underestimate the positive impact Green has on GS at both ends of the court. They are barely over .500 (15-13) in the games he has missed this season, and they struggle even more when Klay is out too. Klay only has a non-Covid illness and Green is ready to come back soon, so I think the Warriors will be just fine in the playoffs. When an all-star starter is your 4th best player, it says a lot about how deep you are as a team. Nate Silver may not appreciate them (he has them with only a 3% chance of winning the NBA title), but Vegas does...they have them tied with the Suns as having the best chance of winning it all this year. If all teams are healthy, a Nets/Warriors final is still the most likely scenario.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I think every rational fan would admit or conclude that D'Angelo Russell has been playing very well this season, but especially since the turn of the calendar year. Well, I wanted to take a quick snapshot of just how fantastic he's been since the start of 2022.

In 22 games played, Russell's averaging 20.3 PPG, 7.0 APG (2.6 TOV), 2.8 RPG, and 1.0 STL in 31.2 MPG. In terms of scoring and assisting volume, that's top tier production from a guard.

However, it's the efficiency that is staggering. He's shooting 46.8% from the floor on 14.9 FGA with 37.4% from three on 8.1 3PA. He's also averaging 4.0 FTA per game and cashing 83.1% of those attempts. This results in a .610 TS%, which is nuts considering the volume and the amount of his shots that are unassisted in that timeframe.

He's been great and is turning up at just the right time as Minnesota makes that final push before the postseason. The only question is how sustainable is this version of D-Lo? Well, I'd argue that it depends. The only noticeable difference to me in his game is that Russell has been getting to the rim a lot more than I've seen in the past.

If D-Lo can continue to navigate his way to the rim with crafty ball-handling, change of pace, and playing well within those tight spaces, then I could see this level of production continuing. The three-point shooting and generation of free throw attempts is in line with his recent norms. I think it comes down to those dribble drives to the hoop and the overall results speak for themselves since the new year.

[kekgeek]

I think every rational fan would admit or conclude that D'Angelo Russell has been playing very well this season, but especially since the turn of the calendar year. Well, I wanted to take a quick snapshot of just how fantastic he's been since the start of 2022.

In 22 games played, Russell's averaging 20.3 PPG, 7.0 APG (2.6 TOV), 2.8 RPG, and 1.0 STL in 31.2 MPG. In terms of scoring and assisting volume, that's top tier production from a guard.

However, it's the efficiency that is staggering. He's shooting 46.8% from the floor on 14.9 FGA with 37.4% from three on 8.1 3PA. He's also averaging 4.0 FTA per game and cashing 83.1% of those attempts. This results in a .610 TS%, which is nuts considering the volume and the amount of his shots that are unassisted in that timeframe.

He's been great and is turning up at just the right time as Minnesota makes that final push before the postseason. The only question is how sustainable is this version of D-Lo? Well, I'd argue that it depends. The only noticeable difference to me in his game is that Russell has been getting to the rim a lot more than I've seen in the past.

If D-Lo can continue to navigate his way to the rim with crafty ball-handling, change of pace, and playing well within those tight spaces, then I could see this level of production continuing. The three-point shooting and generation of free throw attempts is in line with his recent norms. I think it comes down to those dribble drives to the hoop and the overall results speak for themselves since the new year.

Hey, according to Bill Simmoms on his latest podcast he said Dlo is paralyzing this franchise and he is not fun to play with. So sorry Cam the great Bill Simmons has spoken and DLO sucks. Haha

In all seriousness though Dlo has been super fun to watch this year and even the people who didn't like him going into the season (what was fair) are enjoying his play now

When it comes to a title team I'm not sure if Dlo will be the PG and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable paying him over 30 million a year going forward but for this season, he has been a joy to watch and I'm excited to see what becomes of his situation

[Monster]

I think every rational fan would admit or conclude that D'Angelo Russell has been playing very well this season, but especially since the turn of the calendar year. Well, I wanted to take a quick snapshot of just how fantastic he's been since the start of 2022.

In 22 games played, Russell's averaging 20.3 PPG, 7.0 APG (2.6 TOV), 2.8 RPG, and 1.0 STL in 31.2 MPG. In terms of scoring and assisting volume, that's top tier production from a guard.

However, it's the efficiency that is staggering. He's shooting 46.8% from the floor on 14.9 FGA with 37.4% from three on 8.1 3PA. He's also averaging 4.0 FTA per game and cashing 83.1% of those attempts. This results in a .610 TS%, which is nuts considering the volume and the amount of his shots that are unassisted in that timeframe.

He's been great and is turning up at just the right time as Minnesota makes that final push before the postseason. The only question is how sustainable is this version of D-Lo? Well, I'd argue that it depends. The only noticeable difference to me in his game is that Russell has been getting to the rim a lot more than I've seen in the past.

If D-Lo can continue to navigate his way to the rim with crafty ball-handling, change of pace, and playing well within those tight spaces, then I could see this level of production continuing. The three-point shooting and generation of free throw attempts is in line with his recent norms. I think it comes down to those dribble drives to the hoop and the overall results speak for themselves since the new year.

Hey, according to Bill Simmoms on his latest podcast he said Dlo is paralyzing this franchise and he is not fun to play with. So sorry Cam the great Bill Simmons has spoken and DLO sucks. Haha

In all seriousness though Dlo has been super fun to watch this year and even the people who didn't like him going into the season (what was fair) are enjoying his play now

When it comes to a title team I'm not sure if Dlo will be the PG and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable paying him over 30 million a year going forward but for this season, he has been a joy to watch and I'm excited to see what becomes of his situation

FWIW I stopped paying attention to Bill Simmons years ago. I'm sure he is still an entertaining guy.

[thedoper]

I dont know what it is about basketball opinions, but for many it is hard to come back from a strong take. This seems especially the case in the national media but also seems to rear its head here at times. DLo has always been a talented and very intelligent basketball player who is now benefiting from appropriate complementary talent and coaching around him. His warts are well known by those that have watched him a lot. To me, he has been a good and sometimes great player since coming to Minnesota. I like his game and demeanor.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I dont know what it is about basketball opinions, but for many it is hard to come back from a strong take. This seems especially the case in the national media but also seems to rear its head here at times. DLo has always been a talented and very intelligent basketball player who is now benefiting from appropriate complementary talent and coaching around him. His warts are well known by those that have watched him a lot. To me, he has been a good and sometimes great player since coming to Minnesota. I like his game and demeanor.

There are two different Russell takes though.

1) Russell is not a good player. Well, he's definitely not a bad player. A 20/7 guy who can hit three pointers is a good player.
2) Russell is not worth $30M+ per season. That one is entirely different. Whether you look at his individual volume stats or some of the advanced stats... that is a legit question. The rub is that he seems like a pretty solid fit for this team right now. Is he the only guy who could fill that role though? Could the Wolves find somebody similar or even better for even less money? The Wolves have a lot to think about when it comes to offering Russell his next deal.

[thedoper]

I dont know what it is about basketball opinions, but for many it is hard to come back from a strong take. This seems especially the case in the national media but also seems to rear its head here at times. DLo has always been a talented and very intelligent basketball player who is now benefiting from appropriate complementary talent and coaching around him. His warts are well known by those that have watched him a lot. To me, he has been a good and sometimes great player since coming to Minnesota. I like his game and demeanor.

There are two different Russell takes though.

1) Russell is not a good player. Well, he's definitely not a bad player. A 20/7 guy who can hit three pointers is a good player.
2) Russell is not worth $30M+ per season. That one is entirely different. Whether you look at his individual volume stats or some of the advanced stats... that is a legit question. The rub is that he seems like a pretty solid fit for this team right now. Is he the only guy who could fill that role though? Could the Wolves find somebody similar or even better for even less money? The Wolves have a lot to think about when it comes to offering Russell his next deal.

If we had a potential 30 mil pg on ice that could upgrade DLo lets do it. I think when it comes contract time Dlo should not be offered a max deal and I hope that is not what his camp believes his value is. But this is the NBA and potentially the most delusional generation of all time.

Right now, I do not believe we could get a replacement for DLo's value for less money. Im not saying you are suggesting we can, but what would even be the names?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

D'Angelo Russell is making $30M this year and $31M next year. Based on the current salary cap, no, he is not technically worth those figures annually. However, how much is he worth? $20-25M annually seems entirely fair to me given the scarcity of his player type and production. That makes him a slight overpay, but it's insignificant in reality. With how he was discussed last year and leading into this year you'd think he was worth half of that. The vitriol some aimed his way was over the top.

I'm glad the narrative around D-Lo has started to change. He's always been a highly-skilled and productive player in my book, but we're getting better effort defensively and he's cohering with the Wolves other stars seamlessly. The result has been perhaps the most exciting season of Minnesota basketball since Kevin Garnett left and he's been one of the main contributors to that. I'm also optimistic that the Wolves will be able to extend him -- perhaps as early as this off-season depending on his agency's demands. There should be mutual interest in getting that deal done.

[AbeVigodaLive]

D'Angelo Russell is making $30M this year and $31M next year. Based on the current salary cap, no, he is not technically worth those figures annually. However, how much is he worth? $20-25M annually seems entirely fair to me given the scarcity of his player type and production. That makes him a slight overpay, but it's insignificant in reality. With how he was discussed last year and leading into this year you'd think he was worth half of that. The vitriol some aimed his way was over the top.

I'm glad the narrative around D-Lo has started to change. He's always been a highly-skilled and productive player in my book, but we're getting better effort defensively and he's cohering with the Wolves other stars seamlessly. The result has been perhaps the most exciting season of Minnesota basketball since Kevin Garnett left and he's been one of the main contributors to that. I'm also optimistic that the Wolves will be able to extend him -- perhaps as early as this off-season depending on his agency's demands. There should be mutual interest in getting that deal done.

You and I discussed this last week. And we seem to agree on what he should get.

But do we really see an NBA player in his prime willing to take a pay cut? I find it highly unlikely...

[thedoper]

Just for fun, PGs in DLo's salary zone:

Kemba 34mil
Jrue 32 mil
Chris Paul 30 mil
Fox 28 mil
Lowry 26 mil
Brogdon 21mil
Conley 21mil
VanVleet 20mil

There are other PGs that could contribute at a high level for similar or less money than DLo, but the options are limited. I doubt any of them want to sign with the Wolves. I would go a bit further than Cam and say that if we can lock in Dlo for 25 mil per, that is a good to great deal based on what our prospects would be.