Let's pass the ball around the key of week 2 in the NBA season!
Daniel Waddleton
Nov 6th, 2023
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These first two weeks of around the key weekly have been on the longer side, which will tend to happen every year because it’s when we get our first chance to see all these guys again and typically there’s a lot of story lines.
I promise they will not always be this long, and you will probably miss them being this long when there’s hardly anything to write about in March. Maybe I’ll write about the NCAA Tournament in here during that NBA dead period? Or I can just make a totally different column for that. I don’t know yet, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Moving forward, as always it was another great week in the association. James Harden got traded, we had the battle of LA, the in-season tournament kicked off, and Draymond Green made another comment about the new team chemistry being so great.
So as we do every single week around here, let’s spin it around the key of week 2 in the NBA season.
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Team of the week: Atlanta Hawks (Jalen Johnson!)
After starting the season 1-2 and everybody worrying about Trae Young’s piss poor efficiency, the season has turned around with a 3-0 week as they are now 4-2 and just got an impressive win on the road vs a fully healthy Pelicans team.
The Pelicans win is especially impressive because if you weren’t aware, they were actually the champions of the first 3 months last season. As I'm sure you've heard before they were the 1 seed in January before Zion got hurt! I’m sorry I can’t help myself.
On a more serious note, the week got started off with a bang when the Hawks trailed by 19 at halftime vs Minnesota, and then proceeded to go on a 53-21 run out of halftime to eventually capture a 14 point victory. Dejounte Murray was especially good in this game, posting 41 points and 5 assists.
After a pretty easy win against Washington, they then went into New Orleans and once again weathered a very good first half from the Pelicans to then take over in the second half. The Hawks won the game 123-105 on Saturday night.
Obviously I mentioned Dejounte Murray already and Trae Young has been much better this week in all aspects of the game, but the main guy I want to talk about is new starting forward Jalen Johnson.
The first Hawks game I tuned into this season was their game last Sunday vs Milwaukee. Instantly the difference between John Collins playing with this starting group last season and Jalen Johnson playing with them this season was eye opening.
First and foremost, Johnson is a much better catch and shoot player then John Collins. Sometimes when I’m trying to sleep at night, I can still see Collins missing wide open 3's off Trae Young drives. Collins shot 29% on catch and shoot 3’s last season compared to Jalen Johnson who is shooting those catch and shoot opportunities at a 36% clip this season.
Johnson isn’t just a better scorer from 3 then Collins, but is much more effective at attacking closeouts and getting down hill for some tough finishes and vicious dunks.
And what Johnson lacks as a pick and roll lob threat that Collins was, he makes up for being a much better playmaker out of that spot. He has looked solid in the short role this season as a downhill scorer and a decent passer. It’s also not like Trae is now lacking a pick and roll lob threat either, as he and Clint Capela connected on 65 lobs last season, the most by 35. No that’s not a typo.
If I haven’t proved to you Johnson > Collins for this team yet, there’s no denying it after you also take into account Johnson is a better fit as a defender for this Hawks team. He and DeAndre Hunter now make an above average defensive wing duo with either Capela or one of the most underrated big men in the game Onyeka Okongwu defending the rim.
The Hawks over 43.5 was my favorite preseason bet during the summer and after this week I feel as good about it as ever. The Hawks may not be able to win the East this year, but their team is super talented and could potentially challenge anybody in this conference come playoff time.
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NOT team of the week: Phoenix Suns
The Suns completely fell apart at home Tuesday after leading by 13 points going into the 4th quarter. Kevin Durant got stripped by Spurs forward Keldon Johnson that resulted in a game winning layup with 2 seconds remaining.
Then 2 days later they played the Spurs at home again, this time with Devin Booker in the lineup and were down as many as 27 points. While they did charge a 4th quarter comeback and were able to tie the game, they didn’t hold a lead once in the contest and ultimately lost by 11.
Booker once again sits out of their next game in Philadelphia and the 76ers make relatively easy work of the Suns en route to a 12 point victory. The Suns got one win this week vs the Pistons on Sunday, but I’m not sure the win exactly moved the needle.
Devin Booker is at the peak of his powers right now, but if he’s not on the court it doesn’t matter how good he is. He's also the defacto point guard for this team and they don't really have anybody else to play the position late in games. This team has shown in the early going that they are super thin and if they don’t have at least 2 of their 3 stars they are going to really struggle to win basketball games.
We haven’t even seen Bradley Beal play basketball for this team and I can only imagine the Suns are praying it looks good when he does because they clearly need him.
The Nurkic experiment showed some promise on opening night, but since has looked a lot like the disaster he was in Portland last season especially on defense. I completely understand why they felt the need to move off Deandre Ayton but no matter how you try to twist it the trade was a downgrade.
It’s unfair to really start to decide what this team can ultimately be until we start seeing games with Durant Booker and Beal on the floor, but who’s to say we will ever see that consistently as all 3 have had injury issues throughout their career. It’s not time to panic in Phoenix, but it is time to wonder what this team’s ceiling is without all 3 stars because I’m not sure you can count on that for 9 straight weeks this Spring.
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Player of the Week: Jayson Tatum
It’s about time we started talking about this guy on the blog. I covered Devin Booker in depth last week in this column and I think Jayson Tatum is in the same boat of him. A mid 20’s superstar who has been through all the highs and lows of postseason play, entering the peak of his powers.
Jayson Tatum looks virtually ungradable through the first 2 weeks of the season and while I hate to use him already as the player of the week, he and his team are playing way too well for me to not give it to him.
The Celtics are currently the last undefeated team in basketball, and they look like AT WORST the second-best team in basketball behind the Denver Nuggets. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis have fit seamlessly with the rest of the Celtics core, and they are firing on all cylinders right now.
As for Jayson Tatum, he has not only solidified himself as the best player on the best team in the East, but there’s a case for him being the best player in the Eastern Conference through 2 weeks.
Tatum this week averaged 31.7 points a game on ridiculous 59/54/94 shooting splits. He's been super efficient scoring the basketball and has really never looked this comfortable getting to where he wants to go and scoring at will.
While we have always been accustomed to Tatum knocking down his off dribble pull up mid range and 3 point jump shots, what I’ve found really encouraging from him early on is his urgency not to settle as much for pull up’s every time he gets some sort of switch. He’s attacking the basket as much as I’ve ever seen from him in half court settings, and it’s really helping his efficiency.
That’s multiple clips where Tatum gets a switch or is crossmatched in transition vs an either smaller or slower defender and instead of going for the classic sidestep or step back 3 we know Tatum loves, he is taking it all the way to the rim for much more high percentage shots.
We have also seen Tatum go into the post much more often vs smaller defenders so far this season. I think Celtics fans have been waiting to see Tatum comfortably add to his game for some time now. Here is a clip from this week where he gets Tyus Jones switched onto him and just makes easy work in the post.
Tatum continuing to add this element to his game will not just continue to help his efficiency, but will also create a whole new issue for opposing defenses as they will have an entirely new dilemma. Do we double? Do we leave our defenders on an island? Do we change our pick and roll coverage to try to avoid these death wish switches?
Tatum is the most complete player he’s ever been since entering the NBA and I truly do believe he will rival the likes of Giannis and Embiid as the best player in the East all season. And don’t worry, he’s still got the off dribble step back 3 in the bag when he needs it most. Over 6’11 premier shot blocker Myles Turner right here.
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He’s Arrived: Victor Wembanyama (More Tre Jones!)
This whole Victor Wembanyama guy isn’t going to be fair.
The Spurs were absolutely manhandling the Suns on Thursday night after already beating the Suns in shocking fashion on Tuesday night. While I had turned the game off and went on to do other things assuming it was over, I got a text from my buddy who’s a Suns fan saying to tune back in because the Suns were about to come back and win the game. Not only did the Suns not come back and win, but I witnessed something I’ve never seen on a basketball court before.
In clutch time with the game hanging in the balance Victor Wembanyama absolutely took over… ON OFFENSE. The Spurs had been attacking the Suns small ball lineups all night with Wemby by basically throwing the ball up as high as they could and having him just reach up, grab the ball, and basically drop it in the hoop. Something you might have recently seen in a rec basketball game when one 5th grader is way bigger and more mature then all the other 5th graders.
So, Suns Coach Frank Vogel late game made the switch and went big again. Then Wemby decided he would just bring the big out, and just casually hit an off dribble pull up 3. Then he could flash free throw line and knock down an catch and shoot jumper over a 7-footer on his way to 38 points.
My jaw was legitimately dropped; I wasn’t sure if what I just watched was a dream. How is this 7’5 rookie moving like a guard and hitting jump shots like Kevin Durant. Not to mention the fact he was once again a force on defense the entire game, as sometimes guys don’t even look at the basket on drives because they rather not bother trying to get a shot off.
The offense hasn’t been perfect early on this season, and he still looks raw at times especially when he’s dribbling. However, games like this show what the insane ceiling is. If Victor Wembanyama continues to develop on an upward trajectory, I would be shocked if he wasn’t a top 10 player in the NBA by the start of his 3rd season.
I’d also just love to see the Spurs go with Tre Jones at starting point guard, something I briefly mentioned last week as well. The Spurs points per possession on/off number with Jones on the floor is +28.3! There offensive efficiency is +29.3 on/off! I understand Coach Pop clearly has a vision here with Sochan at point guard and I guess who am I to question the greatest ever, but the offense and Wemby are really benefiting from Jones on the floor as a real point guard.
My last Wemby story before we move on, I am a huge Cowboys fan and my 4:30-7PM was occupied this Sunday watching them play the Eagles. However, at halftime I decided I’d throw on some Spurs vs Raptors and see if Wemby does anything cool while I grab a snack. I watched for maybe 10 minutes, and I got to see him contest two different 3’s in a row that both guys airballed.
A unicorn man, a unicorn.
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Sophomore Year Slump? Don’t Recall: Scottie Barnes
Coming off his rookie year some people (me) were claiming the Raptors would’ve been FOOLISH to trade 19-year-old Scottie Barnes for at the time 34 year old Kevin Durant.
Well, if you watched any Raptors games last season you would’ve thought that was a ridiculously foolish thing for somebody to say based on how Barnes was playing. So I made the executive decision to completely banish last season off Scottie Barnes resume, and pretend like this season is picking up right where he left off after his rookie year so I can be right!
I’m kidding, Barnes just made me feel real stupid last year while certainly taking a step back in his second season and Durant still playing at an top 5 level. He's made up for it in a big way through 2 weeks this season as the 3rd year leap is happening.
My favorite part about Scottie Barnes as a prospect was that while he did so many things well, he was a very good playmaker and passer for his size and I thought in the NBA that skill would be really effective for him both in transition, and as a hub on offense. While we have seen flashes of it throughout the first two seasons, this is the first season it's looked the way I thought it might coming out of Florida State. He's averaging over 5 assists a game right now, and can't be sped up on offense.
I really like Barnes poise and change of pace in this clip. You see Barnes get soft doubled at the start of the possession, but he doesn't rush or get uncomfortable even as a 6'9 forward. Instead, he is able to use his body to eliminate Sochan out of the play and then quickly attacks Keldon Johnson downhill. He finishes the play with a pretty dish to Jakob Poeltl for 2.
Scottie has used post ups a lot when he drives or when he grabs offensive rebounds as a way to protect the ball while overpowering to the basket. Here you see an impressive offensive rebound that's followed with a physical back down for the dunk.
The final clip from this game I wanted to show was also in the 4th quarter, where we see a little bit of everything from Barnes as he uses his improved 3 point shooting as a threat to beat Zach Collins into the lane and then makes a nice pass to the corner. The shot eventually misses and Barnes is able to clean up the miss, and then make another nice pass back to the corner for a massive 3.
As I just mentioned, the biggest surprise so far for Barnes this season has to be the outside shooting, as he's currently shooting 44.7% from 3-point land right now. In the first two seasons Barnes has shot 30 and 28 percent from three so even if there is a little regression going forward, keeping the percentage in the high 30's will make him a full package offensive threat.
He also looks more locked in on defense and playing with more of that fire we saw in his rookie season. I think the Raptors have done a better job this season on matching Barnes up with bigger guys he feels more comfortable guarding.
Not to say he can't switch onto a guard for a possessions and hold his own, but as a primary matchup it just wasn't ideal last season. With his length and versatility on that end he has the potential to be a premier defender in this league if deployed correctly.
I'm excited to see Barnes the rest of this season, and you should too. Dennis Schroder has also been a nice addition at point guard for the Raptors and they might not blow this thing up after all. They are kind of an intriguing team moving forward in the East.
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I like it: Chet’s offense
Last Sunday I tuned into an early Nuggets Thunder game that tipped off around like 3:30, and was excited to watch some uninterrupted Thunder basketball vs the best team in the NBA. The game was awful, as Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had one of his worst performances I’ve ever seen from him and the Nuggets blew them out. However, in the first quarter I was a version of Chet Holmgren on offense that I had not yet seen this season. He was taking Nikola Jokic off the dribble and hitting turn around jumpers and driving to the cup on him easily.
While it clearly didn’t affect the outcome of the game, I made it a point of emphasis to watch for that again this week. The Thunder have been just alright so far this season at 3-3, but Chet has given more to this offense then I think many were expecting this early.
First and foremost, he's been a big man floor spacer for guys like Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Jalen Williams, two of the best drivers in the league.
Chet has then shown an ability to use his clicking jump shot to create looks for himself at the rim
He's also had the ability to be a lob threat in the dunkers spot on drives. This is something the Thunder have said they worked on with Chet and their guards a ton in the off-season as they clearly lacked this offensive option last season.
I think maybe my favorite part about Chet's offense so far this year has been his ability to handle the ball and playmake. You'll see multiple times a game Chet grab a rebound and start the break himself, which gives you hardly anytime to get back and matchup in transition with all the young and athletic guys on the floor.
And in this clip you see him running a pick and roll as the ball handler, and is able to throw a really nice pass to Isaiah Joe who slip faded the screen for a good look at a 3. Also notice that it's a very important part in this game, and it shows the confidence his coach and teammates have in him to not only be able to operate as a ball handler, but also be a decisionmaker in high leverage spots.
Assuming Chet is only scratching the surface of his offensive potential, he is not only going to be an amazing fit with SGA and Williams, but is also going to be a dynamite offensive player on his own. The future is almost as bright as it was in 2011 for OKC and it's a great time to be a Thunder or Chet Holmgren fan.
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I don’t like it: Julius Randle
Julius Randle is off to a very poor start shooting the basketball this year, and it wouldn’t be such an issue if he didn’t let it affect every other aspect of his game. This clip here pretty much sums up the Randle experience so far this season.
While currently being 5/20 shooing and a -5 in the game, Jalen Brunson who has 45 points takes this tough shot to try to take the lead with under a minute remaining. He misses, and Randle immediately throws up his hands as almost to say “what are you doing?”, and then proceeds to no exaggeration walk back on defense which leads to a Damian Lillard and one.
Julius Randle is a good overall basketball player and can help this Knicks team win a lot of games, but his poor shooting leading to pouting and poor defense is unacceptable if the Knicks want to be a good team. The guy clearly needs a little bit of positivity right now and hopefully the Knicks fans don’t boo him to death on Monday vs the Clippers, but at the same time he needs to understand he’s the second best player on a playoff team and acting like this isn’t helping himself or the team.
I have faith Randle is going to turn it around at some point here, but right now it's ugly from a physical and mental perspective.
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Not sure if I like or don’t like: Orlando Magic’s Guard’s
On Monday night I was watching the Magic face off against the Lakers in an exciting game where Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner were playing very poorly. Coming into the game you would’ve thought if Paolo and Franz weren't going to play well then the Magic stood no chance, but they were right there until the final buzzer.
This could be attributed to the 4 guards who played for Orlando that night, Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, and Gary Harris. Jalen Suggs especially was jumping off the TV at times knocking down a couple clutch 3’s while seemingly being everywhere on the defensive end. When Suggs missed the game tying 3 he even appeared to be crying, showing how much the guy cares.
Coming out of the contest I was impressed and assumed that as Paolo and Franz shape into form this team could be tough. Well the rest of the week wasn’t great for guard play in Orlando as they got beat handily by the Clippers and then almost blew a game they seemingly already had won in Utah as they couldn’t get any late game offense going. While that also falls on the laps of Paolo and Franz it was clear they didn’t have a guard comfortable running late game offense.
This team ranks 28th in clutch scoring and posses an offensive rating of 60.9 during that time, good for 27th in the league. They are 2-2 this season in clutch games and the 2 games they won were both games that they were up big late and almost blew.
Now I have not watched enough Magic to fully understand who is most to blame for this, but I really liked how the Magic guards played vs the Lakers and didn’t like how they looked in the 4th quarter vs the Jazz. So the jury is still out for this position group in my book.
Ironically, Magic rookie guard Anthony Black was one of my favorite prospects coming out of the draft and while he was out of the rotation to start the season, he's been given ample opportunity due to injuries and while I didn’t cover him in this part, I’m sure I’ll be given the opportunity to at some point this season.
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Men of their word!: Paul George and Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard made a comment this summer about how if he is healthy enough to play no matter the situation, he would play. Pretty much everybody rolled their eyes at these comments assuming the Clippers would once again find loop holes to keep Leonard and running mate Paul George out of nearly every back to back.
Welp, at least to start the season they are holding true to what they said, because on Wednesday night both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George played 41 and 37 minutes a piece in an overtime thriller. Kawhi looked like vintage Kawhi for most of the night until it appeared he ran out of gas in OT, which could maybe be attributed to how long it’s been since he played a back-to-back.
George looked about just as good as Kawhi, even though he unfortunately fouled out in the overtime period. While they suffered a loss, it was a positive sign for the Clippers outlook that both Leonard and George not only played a back to back but were both super effective for most of the night.
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Wouldn’t it be nice?: Alex Caruso in Milwaukee
It’s not a secret this Milwaukee Bucks team desperately needs help on the perimeter defensively. The once super effective deep drop Brook Lopez pick and roll coverage is no longer as effective without a guy like Jrue Holiday to fight over each and every screen that is thrown at him and help funnel guys into the paint where Lopez can be at his best.
Current starting guards Damian Lillard and Malik Beasley have not only not been able to do what Holiday did, but right now they aren’t really doing anything. The Bucks are getting murdered in pick and roll and now new head coach Adrian Griffin has tried to bring Lopez higher up on pick and rolls and he no longer looks like a defensive player of the year candidate.
The most effective way to use Lopez on defense is going to be the drop which has worked so well for him, and so the bucks need to figure out how they can be better from a guard’s perspective. Lillard is going to be your closer so he’s not going anywhere, so that means they need to find somebody who isn’t Malik Beasley to play a Jrue Holiday type role.
They could try to find that in house with either Pat Connaughton or Marjon Beauchamp, but if they really wanted the bring back a Jrue Holiday level screen dodger to this offense why not bring in maybe the only guy who rivals Holiday at that skill? Alex Caruso.
I’ve always talked about how good of a defender Alex Caruso is ever seen I started diving into basketball and couldn’t believe the Lakers let him walk in free agency to the Bulls in 2021. After I concluded watching the Bucks vs Knicks game Friday night, I saw this clip on twitter from Steph Noh of the Nets vs Bulls game from that night.
That’s when it all clicked, Caruso is EXACTLY what this team needs. They need an elite point of attack defender who can get over all the screens that Lillard and Beasley cannot.
Caruso also has the defensive versatility to guard down to the quickest and most skilled guards in the east like Tyrese Maxey, Donavan Mitchell or Trae Young, or even guard up on some of the better wings in the east like Jaylen Brown. Is he going to lock up Jayson Tatum or Jimmy Butler? No, but even on those guys if you don’t want to put Giannis on them, I think Caruso could put up a good fight.
It’s also worth noting that Griffin has allowed Giannis to guard some of the best players on the other team like Embiid, Butler, and Randle this season. This is something previous coach Mike Bud did not allow Giannis to do even though it seemed like Bucks faithful was begging him to let happen while Butler was torching Milwaukee last playoffs.
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Let’s talk about it: In-season tournament kicks off
The courts might be a work in progress but overall, I think the first day of the in-season tournament was a success! I’ve always really supported the in-season tournament idea and thought anybody who was hating on it was just doing it because they wanted to be miserable.
There was no reason not to be optimistic that this would not only be a fun new wrinkle to the early part of the season, but also raise the level of play in these games because of new incentives. There really did feel like a different energy in each of the arenas and teams appeared to be playing with a little more effort and focus then in a normal regular season game.
We got some instant classics like Bucks vs Knicks, Bulls vs Nets, Warriors vs Thunder, and Grizzlies vs Trail Blazers. You can’t watch any of that Warriors Thunder game and tell me there wasn’t an added energy in that building. These are some of the most competitive people in the world, that’s how they made it to the NBA. Of course when you add a trophy and money incentives these players are going to AT LEAST play a little harder.
It’s fun for us fans too, as it gives us something we can root for our team to work towards and capture during the season that we don’t have to wait until April or June to see finalize. So far, B+ grade on the in-season tournament after the first week from me. Work on the courts, and maybe the name of the tournament?
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Buy Stock: Anthony Davis DPOY
Anthony Davis is currently +850 to win defensive player of the year right now and I really like that as an early season future’s bet. If you happened to tune in and watch the Lakers vs Clippers game on national TV Wednesday night, you probably agree with me.
Anthony Davis truly did it all on that side of the ball in the battle of Los Angeles. First off, Davis this season has looked as good as ever at blocking shots and Wednesday was no different. Here it looks like Norman Powell is shooting this shot like Davis isn’t even going to try to contest it, and Davis just blocks it right out of the air.
And then in this clip Kawhi Leonard gets a screen set for him and try’s to knock down a quick pull up 3. Davis with his incredible length and instincts is about to reject his 3 point shot, which while we are becoming more accustomed to it because of Victor Wembanyama, is still really hard to do!
Davis’s switchable defense was a huge story throughout the night of this game as he had multiple key stops on switches in the second half. In these clips you see both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, two of the best scorers in basketball both struggle against Davis 1 on 1. Davis is able to force George into a miss after George tried to shake him multiple times, and you see Davis stifle Leonard’s drive and force a kick out late clock in the other clip.
Davis followed up Wednesday’s performance with a 7-block performance vs Orlando. My favorite block by far on the night is this one on Franz Wagner.
On this transition break after the LeBron turnover Davis is sprinting back to try to contest a Wagner 3. Wagner tries to use Davis’s momentum against him and drives quick to the right. Davis is able to turn his hips quick and recover on the drive so Wagner again tries to use Davis’s momentum against him with a euro step back to the left. Davis once again is able to rotate and then block one of the best euro step scorers in the league.
This is one of those players where when you’re watching live you just rewind the game 10 seconds to make sure you really just saw that.
It’s certainly not like this has been anything new, as really since last season after the trade deadline Anthony Davis has been arguably the best defensive player in the world (I have a ranking for this I will be releasing soon). Circling back around, I think if Davis can stay healthy which is a big “if” considering the minutes he is playing, him at +850 right now for defensive player of the year is awesome value.
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Keep an eye out: Timberwolves defense!
The Denver Nuggets were handed their first loss of the season on Wednesday night to the Minnesota Timberwolves and were held to their lowest scoring total and worst field goal percentage of the year. The Minnesota defense currently ranks first in the NBA in defense, and it all starts with the improvement of Rudy Gobert.
Gobert was once considered one of, if not the best defensive big man in basketball. However, last season was the worst of his career in many aspects including defense, and it didn’t help that the Timberwolves heavily overpaid to acquire Gobert in the first place.
Coming back for his second season in Minnesota he is much improved and his defensive rating is up by 4.6 points from last season and he now ranks back in the top 10 of Centers. He has also gotten back up to a 5.5% block percentage averaging 2.4 blocks a game which is good for 4th leaguewide.
On this Clip you see an impressive Block by Gobert coming across the lane as a help defender and literally snatching the ball out of the air even after a quick move by Pascal Siakam.
And in this clip you see Gobert able to help in the pick ‘n’ roll and affect the pass in the paint, and then shows an impressive ability to land, jump again, and block Clint Capela’s layup.
While it’s clear he will never be Utah Rudy Gobert again defensively, this version of him will be enough considering they have two of the best point of attack defenders in basketball right now, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels.
Now I’m sure many of you have heard about Jaden McDaniels defensive excellence last year as it was a big talking point down the stretch of the season, and coming back this year he posses a 34.6% field goal percentage against him on 8.7 attempts a game this year (that’s insane). But the more important part of the Wolves perimeter defense is the emergence of a second lockdown point of attack defender, the offensive superstar Anthony Edwards, who is quickly becoming one of the best 2 way players in basketball.
Edwards jump every season since his rookie year on defense has been extremely impressive and he actually ranks 1st in defensive win shares so far this season. Now add the fact that they have two other plus defenders who play significant minutes in Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, and it’s fair to assume this defense isn’t going anywhere.
In fact, I think they have an opportunity to continue to ascend on this slide of the floor. I’m super excited to watch their game against the Celtics on Monday and see them face off against another one of the best offenses in basketball.
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Looking Ahead: Warriors vs Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks
Looking ahead, I thought the Warriors looked small in that game vs the Cavaliers on Sunday, and that the Cavs size gave them real issues on defense and on the glass. I will be interested to see how they look vs another big team in the Nuggets and see if they are maybe a little more fired up for this national TV game vs the champs, or if this team just has a real size issue.
I’m also interested to see the continued development of this Mavericks team, who I’m almost ready to admit I was completely wrong on. They have not played the most competitive schedule and lost to Denver in a game it felt like they never got within striking distance of. So seeing them against some higher level foes this week such as the Clippers and New Orleans will be interesting.
I also might’ve been VERY wrong on Derick Lively II and I’m about a week away from a giant apology.
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Emptying the Notebook
Shaedon Sharpe looks really good man.
When predicting the Kings to be as good if not better then last year, I wish I took more into account their injury luck last season.
Been very encouraged by Desmond Bane's continued improvement running pick and roll. Won them the game in Portland with his pick and roll with Triple J.
Keep an eye out for Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Another Donavan Mitchell shoutout.
RJ has been the most efficient he's ever been as a scorer.
Have we gotten an answer yet to why Killian Hayes starts over Jaden Ivey?
I've enjoyed watching the Pacers, especially Bruce Brown and Myles Turner playing with Haliburton.
Jalen Williams might already be one of the best drivers in basketball.
Walker Kessler's sophomore year slump has been a little concerning.
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