GDT- Denver affairs: 3rd chapter

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I guess it's back to Ben Simmons please be good. While he's not a shooter, he's a primary ball handler who makes everyone around him better which would be nice to have in the frontcourt. We need Wiggins and Zach in the corners more often to hit more spot up 3's. The offensive struggles pretty much come from having a primary ball handler scoring under 10pts per game. You can cite whatever advanced stats you want. It's a problem because guys like Zach and Wiggins have to create their own offense a lot more often instead of being able to post up on the 3pt line and benefit from someone else forcing defensive rotations that open them up for open spot up 3's. That corner 3 stat McPherson tweeted is damning to both our system and our players. We run the most inefficient offense in the league that is bailed out statistically by FT's.

[Coolbreeze44]

I'm so disappointed in Rubio. I had such high hopes for this guy, and early on he looked like the savior we needed to run this team for the next 12 years. Then the knee injury happened. Then something went wrong with Adelman at helm. He lost all of his flair and turned into a play in the box type guard, something that was so counter to his earlier promise. His shooting never got better. And now he looks like the oldest 25 year old I've seen since James Hollywood Robinson played for Portland. It's gotten to the point where I prefer to see Zach run the point. At least he has some of that promise that Rubio seemed to have a few years back. If I was running the Wolves, Ricky would be on the trading block before his value starts to plummet. Let Zach and Tyus play the point this year and see where we are at the end of the season.

[Lipoli390]

I hate to say it, but we just might have to go back to that original starting lineup Mitchell rolled out: Rubio-Wiggins-Prince-KG-Towns. KAT will certainly get more touches since he'd be the #2 option (instead of Martin).

Martin seems to shoot like he is the #1 option out there. I dont get what our team is gaining by having him out there.

Well, theoretically he's one of the few guys on the team that can shoot 3's consistently and manufacture points when nothing else is working. But in reality, he's even struggled with the things he's good at.

Didn't you hear Sam tonight at his presser? We don't have any 3- point shooters on this team. So we're worse off taking threes. Is it any wonder that every player on this team except possibly Zach repeatedly passes up good three-point looks to take a few steps in for a long two? That's not an accident. That's sort of repeated behavior reflects what they're taught in practice. There's no other logical explanation. Even Rudez is passing up three-point opportunities.

As for not having three-point shooters, I'll just mention a few names: Kevin Martin, Zach LaVine, Bjelica, KAT and Rudez. And of course, knowing how much shooting depends on confidence, one can only wonder how much better our young guys might get from behind the arc with a different message from their head coach.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I don't mind Sam as an assistant coach, he's just not a head coach in the NBA. It doesn't help when his supporting cast is freakin Sidney Lowe, Flip Jr. and Adelman Jr. Those guys have simply inherited the roles. I expect to see a total overhaul next season.

It seems to me that Sam is trying to stick with Flips blueprint and vision. Problem is it seems only Flip knew how to make it work. And even then it wasn't a great plan. The game has changed, and you need to shoot 3's to compete. Look at GSW.

I'm not too disgruntled about the current roster. Martin is the only guy who needs to be moved. He's giving us absolutely nothing this season, and is simply taking minutes from Zach at the 2. Would like us to trade him for a legit NBA PG like Collison to fill in for and play off Ricky.

As mentioned I think a shortened rotation would help. Rubio-LaVine-Wiggins-KG-KAT with Bazz-Dieng-Bjelica-Prince off the bench and Miller getting scrap minutes at the point.

Yeah I feel like Ive mentioned that Martin move (or something similar) a time or two.

Problem is... why would Sacramento make that move? I'd think a legit backup PG like Collison would garner more in return.

Plus, he's on a cheaper contract ($5M) that runs through next year.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I guess it's back to Ben Simmons please be good. While he's not a shooter, he's a primary ball handler who makes everyone around him better which would be nice to have in the frontcourt. We need Wiggins and Zach in the corners more often to hit more spot up 3's. The offensive struggles pretty much come from having a primary ball handler scoring under 10pts per game. You can cite whatever advanced stats you want. It's a problem because guys like Zach and Wiggins have to create their own offense a lot more often instead of being able to post up on the 3pt line and benefit from someone else forcing defensive rotations that open them up for open spot up 3's. That corner 3 stat McPherson tweeted is damning to both our system and our players. We run the most inefficient offense in the league that is bailed out statistically by FT's.

I cringed just a little when I saw that, considering Simmions is a college freshman on a 4 - 4 team.

I know passing helps teammates. But beyond that, do we really know if he's helping his teammates that much? Maybe he's hogging the ball so much, whether that's passing or shooting, that it's actually hurting the team.

Sorry for quibbling a bit here with this one...

[AbeVigodaLive]

I'm so disappointed in Rubio. I had such high hopes for this guy, and early on he looked like the savior we needed to run this team for the next 12 years. Then the knee injury happened. Then something went wrong with Adelman at helm. He lost all of his flair and turned into a play in the box type guard, something that was so counter to his earlier promise. His shooting never got better. And now he looks like the oldest 25 year old I've seen since James Hollywood Robinson played for Portland. It's gotten to the point where I prefer to see Zach run the point. At least he has some of that promise that Rubio seemed to have a few years back. If I was running the Wolves, Ricky would be on the trading block before his value starts to plummet. Let Zach and Tyus play the point this year and see where we are at the end of the season.

I mentioned it before, I'm worried about Rubio's value. Not because he doesn't offer other things.

But because he's off the radar for so many teams instantly. There are a lot of teams with decent to good PGs where adding Rubio would be a lateral move or a step back.

But beyond that, there are teams that wouldn't even look at him because they value shooting more from their PGs. It's just what they demand in their respective systems. In the end, there might be only a handful of teams that would even consider him at that price... and that's never a position the Wolves want to be in to get top value.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I hate to say it, but we just might have to go back to that original starting lineup Mitchell rolled out: Rubio-Wiggins-Prince-KG-Towns. KAT will certainly get more touches since he'd be the #2 option (instead of Martin).

Martin seems to shoot like he is the #1 option out there. I dont get what our team is gaining by having him out there.

Well, theoretically he's one of the few guys on the team that can shoot 3's consistently and manufacture points when nothing else is working. But in reality, he's even struggled with the things he's good at.

Didn't you hear Sam tonight at his presser? We don't have any 3- point shooters on this team. So we're worse off taking threes. Is it any wonder that every player on this team except possibly Zach repeatedly passes up good three-point looks to take a few steps in for a long two? That's not an accident. That's sort of repeated behavior reflects what they're taught in practice. There's no other logical explanation. Even Rudez is passing up three-point opportunities.

As for not having three-point shooters, I'll just mention a few names: Kevin Martin, Zach LaVine, Bjelica, KAT and Rudez. And of course, knowing how much shooting depends on confidence, one can only wonder how much better our young guys might get from behind the arc with a different message from their head coach.

When I read this, that stat from Steve McPherson screamed through my brain. The Wolves are last in the league (by a significant margin) in corner 3s. Essentially, the team takes about 2.5 per game.

That shot is 22 feet and worth 3 points.

Instead the team is passing up 23.9" shots (fair enough) to take 20 - 22 foot shots for only 2 points? The corner three point shot remains the most "efficient" shot in the game. And it's virtually ignored by the Wolves. It's not only about shooting 3 pointers, it's about shooting the right kind of three pointers.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I'm with you Q. The D sucks on all fronts. Inside, outside. It has been awful.

I couldn't agree with you guys more on this comment. I was at the game last night, and it was the sorriest defensive efforts I have seen all year...totally different from what we were watching the first 16 games of the year. We're scoring the ball just fine, but we can't stop anyone most of the game. I left the arena very down on this club, but as I mentioned in another post, Sam's post-game comments about making some lineup changes to improve the defense brought me back a little. Let's see what he does tonight. As long as it involves removing Martin from the starting lineup, I'll be pleased.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I guess it's back to Ben Simmons please be good. While he's not a shooter, he's a primary ball handler who makes everyone around him better which would be nice to have in the frontcourt. We need Wiggins and Zach in the corners more often to hit more spot up 3's. The offensive struggles pretty much come from having a primary ball handler scoring under 10pts per game. You can cite whatever advanced stats you want. It's a problem because guys like Zach and Wiggins have to create their own offense a lot more often instead of being able to post up on the 3pt line and benefit from someone else forcing defensive rotations that open them up for open spot up 3's. That corner 3 stat McPherson tweeted is damning to both our system and our players. We run the most inefficient offense in the league that is bailed out statistically by FT's.

I cringed just a little when I saw that, considering Simmions is a college freshman on a 4 - 4 team.

I know passing helps teammates. But beyond that, do we really know if he's helping his teammates that much? Maybe he's hogging the ball so much, whether that's passing or shooting, that it's actually hurting the team.

Sorry for quibbling a bit here with this one...

He's averaging 19/15/6/2.5/1.6 on 55/50/73 splits (he doesn't shoot many three's though so that stat I misleading). I don't know how much more one guy can do for a team at the college level. Here's an article about how hard the team is failing around him despite his best efforts and yes he makes everyone around him better. This team would be complete garbage without him. That's the price he's gonna pay though for going to a bad basketball school.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/sports/ncaabasketball/for-ben-simmons-lifting-lsu-may-be-too-tall-a-task.html?_r=0&referer=https://www.bing.com/search?q=ben%20simmons&form=MB1078&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US

[AbeVigodaLive]

I guess it's back to Ben Simmons please be good. While he's not a shooter, he's a primary ball handler who makes everyone around him better which would be nice to have in the frontcourt. We need Wiggins and Zach in the corners more often to hit more spot up 3's. The offensive struggles pretty much come from having a primary ball handler scoring under 10pts per game. You can cite whatever advanced stats you want. It's a problem because guys like Zach and Wiggins have to create their own offense a lot more often instead of being able to post up on the 3pt line and benefit from someone else forcing defensive rotations that open them up for open spot up 3's. That corner 3 stat McPherson tweeted is damning to both our system and our players. We run the most inefficient offense in the league that is bailed out statistically by FT's.

I cringed just a little when I saw that, considering Simmions is a college freshman on a 4 - 4 team.

I know passing helps teammates. But beyond that, do we really know if he's helping his teammates that much? Maybe he's hogging the ball so much, whether that's passing or shooting, that it's actually hurting the team.

Sorry for quibbling a bit here with this one...

He's averaging 19/15/6/2.5/1.6 on 55/50/73 splits (he doesn't shoot many three's though so that stat I misleading). I don't know how much more one guy can do for a team at the college level. Here's an article about how hard the team is failing around him despite his best efforts and yes he makes everyone around him better. This team would be complete garbage without him. That's the price he's gonna pay though for going to a bad basketball school.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/sports/ncaabasketball/for-ben-simmons-lifting-lsu-may-be-too-tall-a-task.html?_r=0&referer=https://www.bing.com/search?q=ben%20simmons&form=MB1078&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US

I'm a huge detractor of Wilt Chamberlain. I think he's arguably one of the most selfish players the game has ever seen. But, he was the best player on his team virtually every season.

He even led the league in assists! Obviously, he made his teammates better. Right?

Wait. Look closer. Wilt made it his season mission to lead the league in assists that season... one year after winning the NBA title. What happened? The team underachieved and Wilt blamed everybody... but himself. Now, I'm not claiming Simmons is a cancer like Wilt. Not at all.

But, LSU was a tournament team last season. And they've changed the way they play this season to take advantage of Simmons' skills. Smart move, right? He's excelling, but that doesn't mean it's what's best for everybody else. Is having the poor shooting PF handle the ball so much helping others get in the flow? Is the coach just terrible? All the other players got lazy overnight? I don't know. But something is amiss. Those guys are playing worse... and it might not have to do with Simmons at all.

BUT... my point is that without evidence that he's making teammates better... why suggest he is?



[Note: I always cringed when I read those Rubio makes players better too. The team is better... because he's inherently better than his backups. But how is he making his teammates better? And don't most good PGs do those things that make teammates better? For example, Russell Westbrook is a great guard, but very much unlike Rubio... was he making teammates worse? Could he actually, gulp... be making his teammates even better than Rubio does?]