Around the League 2022-23

[Lipoli390]

The Grizzlies came through for us tonight beating the Mavs. So the Wolves are no in sole possession of 7th place in the West. Let's hope the Suns get their shit together and beat the Warriors so we can start zeroing in on 6th place and avoid the play in.

You have to admire this Grizzlies team. They lose their one star, Morant, along a key rotation guy, Clark, but they keep winning. They won without Morant for an extended stretch last season. And hats off to the organization that built this Grizzlies team. Tonight they got 19 points from their rookie #23 pick, Roddy. They also got 23 points from the #30 pick three years ago, Desmond Bane, and 19 from Dillion Brooks a #45 pick they acquired on draft night for a future 2nd-round pick. They essentially drafted Clarke at #21 in a draft night deal. And of course, they drafted Jaren Jackson Jr at #4 and Ja Morant at #2. That's a hell of a record and a great example of how a small or mid-market team needs to build a contender.

[FNG]

The Grizzlies came through for us tonight beating the Mavs. So the Wolves are no in sole possession of 7th place in the West. Let's hope the Suns get their shit together and beat the Warriors so we can start zeroing in on 6th place and avoid the play in.

You have to admire this Grizzlies team. They lose their one star, Morant, along a key rotation guy, Clark, but they keep winning. They won without Morant for an extended stretch last season. And hats off to the organization that built this Grizzlies team. Tonight they got 19 points from their rookie #23 pick, Roddy. They also got 23 points from the #30 pick three years ago, Desmond Bane, and 19 from Dillion Brooks a #45 pick they acquired on draft night for a future 2nd-round pick. They essentially drafted Clarke at #21 in a draft night deal. And of course, they drafted Jaren Jackson Jr at #4 and Ja Morant at #2. That's a hell of a record and a great example of how a small or mid-market team needs to build a contender.

And they're also missing Steven Adams, Lip, and he has been very good this season. Ja has been good this season and Tyus has had some substandard moments, so I thought they would struggle without 2 starters and Clark. But instead they are thriving just like they did last year. I'm okay with that because they are beating teams we like seeing lose, and I'm not afraid of Memphis if we face them in the playoffs...especially with Clark out. Let's hope they keep rolling, because we can't catch them, and 7 of their last 15 games are against teams we are battling in the standings.

[AbeVigodaLive]

The Grizzlies came through for us tonight beating the Mavs. So the Wolves are no in sole possession of 7th place in the West. Let's hope the Suns get their shit together and beat the Warriors so we can start zeroing in on 6th place and avoid the play in.

You have to admire this Grizzlies team. They lose their one star, Morant, along a key rotation guy, Clark, but they keep winning. They won without Morant for an extended stretch last season. And hats off to the organization that built this Grizzlies team. Tonight they got 19 points from their rookie #23 pick, Roddy. They also got 23 points from the #30 pick three years ago, Desmond Bane, and 19 from Dillion Brooks a #45 pick they acquired on draft night for a future 2nd-round pick. They essentially drafted Clarke at #21 in a draft night deal. And of course, they drafted Jaren Jackson Jr at #4 and Ja Morant at #2. That's a hell of a record and a great example of how a small or mid-market team needs to build a contender.

And they're also missing Steven Adams, Lip, and he has been very good this season. Ja has been good this season and Tyus has had some substandard moments, so I thought they would struggle without 2 starters and Clark. But instead they are thriving just like they did last year. I'm okay with that because they are beating teams we like seeing lose, and I'm not afraid of Memphis if we face them in the playoffs...especially with Clark out. Let's hope they keep rolling, because we can't catch them, and 7 of their last 15 games are against teams we are battling in the standings.

Tyus Jones in 14 starts:

18.3 ppg
7.7 apg
50.8% fg
44.8% 3fg

Even as a guy who digs Tyus Jones, I never thought he would be capable of that type of production.

[FNG]

The Grizzlies came through for us tonight beating the Mavs. So the Wolves are no in sole possession of 7th place in the West. Let's hope the Suns get their shit together and beat the Warriors so we can start zeroing in on 6th place and avoid the play in.

You have to admire this Grizzlies team. They lose their one star, Morant, along a key rotation guy, Clark, but they keep winning. They won without Morant for an extended stretch last season. And hats off to the organization that built this Grizzlies team. Tonight they got 19 points from their rookie #23 pick, Roddy. They also got 23 points from the #30 pick three years ago, Desmond Bane, and 19 from Dillion Brooks a #45 pick they acquired on draft night for a future 2nd-round pick. They essentially drafted Clarke at #21 in a draft night deal. And of course, they drafted Jaren Jackson Jr at #4 and Ja Morant at #2. That's a hell of a record and a great example of how a small or mid-market team needs to build a contender.

And they're also missing Steven Adams, Lip, and he has been very good this season. Ja has been good this season and Tyus has had some substandard moments, so I thought they would struggle without 2 starters and Clark. But instead they are thriving just like they did last year. I'm okay with that because they are beating teams we like seeing lose, and I'm not afraid of Memphis if we face them in the playoffs...especially with Clark out. Let's hope they keep rolling, because we can't catch them, and 7 of their last 15 games are against teams we are battling in the standings.

Tyus Jones in 14 starts:

18.3 ppg
7.7 apg
50.8% fg
44.8% 3fg

Even as a guy who digs Tyus Jones, I never thought he would be capable of that type of production.

And the paucity of his turnovers and his won/loss record as a starter are incredible. I don't have the stats, but my sense is he has been only average as a reserve this season. Some guys seem to get much better when they start and get more minutes. I have some concerns that SloMo might fit that profile, and that could be a challenge when KAT returns...especially when Finchie decides to start him.

[Monster]

The Grizzlies came through for us tonight beating the Mavs. So the Wolves are no in sole possession of 7th place in the West. Let's hope the Suns get their shit together and beat the Warriors so we can start zeroing in on 6th place and avoid the play in.

You have to admire this Grizzlies team. They lose their one star, Morant, along a key rotation guy, Clark, but they keep winning. They won without Morant for an extended stretch last season. And hats off to the organization that built this Grizzlies team. Tonight they got 19 points from their rookie #23 pick, Roddy. They also got 23 points from the #30 pick three years ago, Desmond Bane, and 19 from Dillion Brooks a #45 pick they acquired on draft night for a future 2nd-round pick. They essentially drafted Clarke at #21 in a draft night deal. And of course, they drafted Jaren Jackson Jr at #4 and Ja Morant at #2. That's a hell of a record and a great example of how a small or mid-market team needs to build a contender.

And they're also missing Steven Adams, Lip, and he has been very good this season. Ja has been good this season and Tyus has had some substandard moments, so I thought they would struggle without 2 starters and Clark. But instead they are thriving just like they did last year. I'm okay with that because they are beating teams we like seeing lose, and I'm not afraid of Memphis if we face them in the playoffs...especially with Clark out. Let's hope they keep rolling, because we can't catch them, and 7 of their last 15 games are against teams we are battling in the standings.

Tyus Jones in 14 starts:

18.3 ppg
7.7 apg
50.8% fg
44.8% 3fg

Even as a guy who digs Tyus Jones, I never thought he would be capable of that type of production.

And the paucity of his turnovers and his won/loss record as a starter are incredible. I don't have the stats, but my sense is he has been only average as a reserve this season. Some guys seem to get much better when they start and get more minutes. I have some concerns that SloMo might fit that profile, and that could be a challenge when KAT returns...especially when Finchie decides to start him.

Anderson has been playing a smaller role for number of years so I think he will be just fine when he ends up playing fewer minutes. He is likely gonna be able to still be a PG a times. Last night he was out there at times with both NAW and McLaughlin and Anderson had possessions he was the guy with the ball making plays.

Tyus has been pretty productive recently as a starter and the shooting percentages are incredible. That stretch could sway how his starter vs reserve stats look. It does look like Tyus has taken another real step offensively toward being an actual scorer. That's quite the development. We will see if it keeps up it seems like he is going to have opportunity to continue that for a while.

[FNG]

DLO did it again - 33 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 block. He was a +14. Thankfully the Lakers lost.

Russell has been scoring well for the Lakers there is no doubt about that.

Just to keep perspective in 12 games since the trade the Lakers are 8-4 which includes a 4-2 record both with and without Russell. Its worth remembering he played less than 9 minutes in the win against GS.

Good news is Lakers lost, bad news is the Knicks got back on track so that 2nd rounder isn't getting better! Lol

Yep, a perfect night in LA...the Lakers lost, but we still got to enjoy our guy Russell having another nice game. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much to cheer for with Vando and Beasley though, as they have both been mostly ineffective since the trade. It's fun to see our guys do well (and that includes Josh), but it's even better to see the Lakers lose while we're battling with them for playoff positioning!

[Lipoli390]

Lakers and Thunder won tonight. We now have three teams only one game behind us in the standings - Lakers, Mavs and Thunder. The Jazz and Pelicans are only 2 games behind us. Teams behind us I fear the most are the Lakers, Mavs and Pelicans. Meanwhile, we're only one game behind both the Clippers and Warriors.

[FNG]

Everything is back to normal...Josh O is shooting 29% on threes his last 10 games, but blocked Panchero's last second three-pointer to preserve the victory. Opponents score 7.4 fewer points per 100 possession when JO is on the court compared to off.

[Lipoli390]

The Jazz beat the Celtics by one point in a thriller tonight. Kessler had 12 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks while committing only 2 fouls and 0 turnovers. His third block was a game saving one at the end.

The Wolves are now in a three-way tie with the Thunder and Jazz for the 8-10 spots in the West. The Lakers are a half game behind in 11th and the Pelicans are a game behind in 12th.

Normally, I'd take some comfort in knowing that not making the playoffs would at least mean a lottery pick. It would be especially comforting knowing that TC, the guy who drafted Kessler, would be making the pick in June. Alas....

[Lipoli390]

Fultz had 28 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals last night in a win over the Clippers. He's having a really good season and I'd bet he gets even better over the next few seasons. Yet another example of the need for patience with young players and an understanding that some young players take longer to develop than others. It's also a reminder that player development is largely a function of opportunity.

Fultz didn't do it alone last night. Wendell Carter Jr. Had 27 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. This Orlando team has a bright future. Carter is one of a number of really good bigs in the League along with his teammate Banchero and others including Jaren Jackson Jr., Poeltl, Mitchell Robinson, Bam, Zion Williamson, Nic Claxton, Robert Williams, Grant Williams, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley. Even Myles Turn and Ivica Zubac are still only 26. I'd like to have one of those bigs on the Wolves roster to develop alongside Edwards and Jaden.

Interestingly the Pistons are loaded with young bigs - James Wiseman, Jalen Duren, and Isaiah Stewart.