CoolBreeze44 wrote:When Ant wants to lock a guy down he can do it, and that will be huge in the playoffs. Once Jaden learns to defend without fouling he will be even better at it due to his length. He's unable to really press up right now because of the fouls, but once he can, forget it. It's encouraging because most guys learn to avoid being foul prone over time.
In context of the Gobert trade it makes me think about how the Wolves were dead set in holding onto Jaden. I'm guessing it came out to 2 FRP to hold onto him. When people say things like, "how could they pay so much for Gobert, who were they bidding against?" I don't think the math was ever that simple. Having Jaden as an asset complicated things for the Wolves. He had to be in the deal or pay a price to keep him out. I suspect that had the Wolves not had Jaden at all there would have been less picks involves in the deal. I don't think there will be regrets about holding onto him.
Huh?
It was reported that the Jazz were holding firm that they wanted Jaden in the Gobert deal and also reported the Wolves refused to include him. It's likely fair to say the Wolves had to pay to keep him out of the deal. What does the deal look like if Jaden isn't even on the team at all? I think those pick(s) were contingent on protecting Jaden and that's all they were.
So a lesser team could have had Gobert for less?
Then, walk away. You don't just overpay because you're asked to.
Q-was-here wrote:I'm convinced. Ant should be an all-star. He's out-dueled Morant and Fox in consecutive nights and never misses games (unlike a ton of other so called all-stars). It would be a shame if he doesn't get selected.
I listened to a portion of the Dunc'd On (Nate Duncan) podcast this week for the first time, at least the part about the Timberwolves.
They discussed Edwards for awhile. They mentioned a bunch of statistics (seems like a heavy egghead podcast)... they mentioned percentages of shots from here and percentages of shots from there and how little or marginal of improvement he's shown.
Meh. I don't remember them discussing his availability in every game.
What about answering the bell every night... even if tired legs adversely affects some very specific and possibly irrelevant stats? I've come around on Edwards as an All Star. In today's NBA where guys sit a lot... I think it's time we start giving more credit to the players who are playing 35+ minutes on the back-end of back-to-backs. The guys who are playing through nagging injuries.
Q-was-here wrote:I'm convinced. Ant should be an all-star. He's out-dueled Morant and Fox in consecutive nights and never misses games (unlike a ton of other so called all-stars). It would be a shame if he doesn't get selected.
I listened to a portion of the Dunc'd On (Nate Duncan) podcast this week for the first time, at least the part about the Timberwolves.
They discussed Edwards for awhile. They mentioned a bunch of statistics (seems like a heavy egghead podcast)... they mentioned percentages of shots from here and percentages of shots from there and how little or marginal of improvement he's shown.
Meh. I don't remember them discussing his availability in every game.
What about answering the bell every night... even if tired legs adversely affects some very specific and possibly irrelevant stats? I've come around on Edwards as an All Star. In today's NBA where guys sit a lot... I think it's time we start giving more credit to the players who are playing 35+ minutes on the back-end of back-to-backs. The guys who are playing through nagging injuries.
Stats be damned.
I completely understand if Luka, Curry, SGA and Dame get into the All Star game at the guard spot over Ant. If Paul George gets a wild card spot over Ant. I will lose my shit, Ant with better numbers and plays every game. If PG gets in its because his name is PG
The other thing that none of those guys, except may be George, can do is be used as a defensive weapon in crunch time. Does Jenkins ever ask Morant to go check the opposing team's most lethal perimeter threat with 3 minutes left? Is Lillard ever asked to do that? Hell no!
It's true that Ant's advanced stats are a bit inferior to a decent handful of his competition, but those stats don't account for availability and late game defense. I think those two things put him right up there with the very best guards in the West.
I think Ant deserves an all-star selection. That said, he's played every game this season despite occasional issues with hip, wrist, you name it. I'd rather see him get a few days off and heal up for the stretch run.
The thing about a lot of today's players is they grew up with a basketball pedigree and were getting a lot of hands on training early and often. A lot have Dad's who were either NBA/D-1 players themselves or were coaches at the high school or AAU level.
Ant really didn't have that experience growing up. He dedicated himself to basketball as his full time sport about six years ago. As a result, it's going to take him some time to work through the nuances and thinking aspects of the game. We're lucky to have him.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:When Ant wants to lock a guy down he can do it, and that will be huge in the playoffs. Once Jaden learns to defend without fouling he will be even better at it due to his length. He's unable to really press up right now because of the fouls, but once he can, forget it. It's encouraging because most guys learn to avoid being foul prone over time.
In context of the Gobert trade it makes me think about how the Wolves were dead set in holding onto Jaden. I'm guessing it came out to 2 FRP to hold onto him. When people say things like, "how could they pay so much for Gobert, who were they bidding against?" I don't think the math was ever that simple. Having Jaden as an asset complicated things for the Wolves. He had to be in the deal or pay a price to keep him out. I suspect that had the Wolves not had Jaden at all there would have been less picks involves in the deal. I don't think there will be regrets about holding onto him.
Huh?
It was reported that the Jazz were holding firm that they wanted Jaden in the Gobert deal and also reported the Wolves refused to include him. It's likely fair to say the Wolves had to pay to keep him out of the deal. What does the deal look like if Jaden isn't even on the team at all? I think those pick(s) were contingent on protecting Jaden and that's all they were.
So a lesser team could have had Gobert for less?
Then, walk away. You don't just overpay because you're asked to.
Is that why they overpaid? Maybe. And maybe I am giving Ainge too much credit. But maybe the team just really believes in Jaden and Gobert and decided to make it happen. I'm just saying I think the pick package wasn't just all about Rudy.
Q-was-here wrote:I'm convinced. Ant should be an all-star. He's out-dueled Morant and Fox in consecutive nights and never misses games (unlike a ton of other so called all-stars). It would be a shame if he doesn't get selected.
I listened to a portion of the Dunc'd On (Nate Duncan) podcast this week for the first time, at least the part about the Timberwolves.
They discussed Edwards for awhile. They mentioned a bunch of statistics (seems like a heavy egghead podcast)... they mentioned percentages of shots from here and percentages of shots from there and how little or marginal of improvement he's shown.
Meh. I don't remember them discussing his availability in every game.
What about answering the bell every night... even if tired legs adversely affects some very specific and possibly irrelevant stats? I've come around on Edwards as an All Star. In today's NBA where guys sit a lot... I think it's time we start giving more credit to the players who are playing 35+ minutes on the back-end of back-to-backs. The guys who are playing through nagging injuries.
Stats be damned.
They've never really cared for Ant since their pre-draft assessment and Nate especially seems like he wants to be proven right about the next Dion Waiters. Might also be salty that his beloved Warriors ended up with James Wiseman instead.
Q-was-here wrote:I'm convinced. Ant should be an all-star. He's out-dueled Morant and Fox in consecutive nights and never misses games (unlike a ton of other so called all-stars). It would be a shame if he doesn't get selected.
I listened to a portion of the Dunc'd On (Nate Duncan) podcast this week for the first time, at least the part about the Timberwolves.
They discussed Edwards for awhile. They mentioned a bunch of statistics (seems like a heavy egghead podcast)... they mentioned percentages of shots from here and percentages of shots from there and how little or marginal of improvement he's shown.
Meh. I don't remember them discussing his availability in every game.
What about answering the bell every night... even if tired legs adversely affects some very specific and possibly irrelevant stats? I've come around on Edwards as an All Star. In today's NBA where guys sit a lot... I think it's time we start giving more credit to the players who are playing 35+ minutes on the back-end of back-to-backs. The guys who are playing through nagging injuries.
Stats be damned.
Seems odd, I guess we'll see where he is at at the end of the season stat wise, after a slow start everything is really up for him. But even with the slow start stat wise his field goal percentage is up from 44.1% to 46.4%, 3pt percentage has gone up every year from 32.9% to 35.7% to 37.7%, he is shooting 5.5 ft per game compared to 3.9 which is a 41% increase, averaging 6.1 reb vs 4.8 last year or a 27% increase, assists are only up 18% from 3.8 to 4.5. Turnovers are up at 27% higher so I would like to see that assist to turnover ratio improved quite a bit from him as he improves. He is shooting around 40% from 3 since December 3rd.
Q-was-here wrote:I'm convinced. Ant should be an all-star. He's out-dueled Morant and Fox in consecutive nights and never misses games (unlike a ton of other so called all-stars). It would be a shame if he doesn't get selected.
I listened to a portion of the Dunc'd On (Nate Duncan) podcast this week for the first time, at least the part about the Timberwolves.
They discussed Edwards for awhile. They mentioned a bunch of statistics (seems like a heavy egghead podcast)... they mentioned percentages of shots from here and percentages of shots from there and how little or marginal of improvement he's shown.
Meh. I don't remember them discussing his availability in every game.
What about answering the bell every night... even if tired legs adversely affects some very specific and possibly irrelevant stats? I've come around on Edwards as an All Star. In today's NBA where guys sit a lot... I think it's time we start giving more credit to the players who are playing 35+ minutes on the back-end of back-to-backs. The guys who are playing through nagging injuries.
Stats be damned.
They've never really cared for Ant since their pre-draft assessment and Nate especially seems like he wants to be proven right about the next Dion Waiters. Might also be salty that his beloved Warriors ended up with James Wiseman instead.
Abe unless something has changed...that's not the podcast for you. I think Nate and Danny are smart guys and have some good viewpoints but with them it's more about numbers and contracts and less about actual basketball stuff. When I listened to their podcasts to their credit they did actually watch games and not just the few games it feels like other media folks watch.
