Aloha,
When I looked at the schedule I thought that the Griz were the team that we had the worst chance of beating with our injury issues. After all they were finally healthy and they were the hottest team in the NBA. Up to the steal by Dennis I thought we were going to lose. But we pulled it out.
This team plays incredibly hard. And that is a testimony to coach Hamm. Sure he’s made some mistakes but he has held this team together through all the adversity. If we had been even reasonably healthy, along with decent refereeing, our record would be reversed and we would be one of the top 6 seeds.
With the trade season in full swing, all the click bait posters have a variety of players for us to consider. And they generally are all geared towards the offensive side of the ball. Yet we are 7th in the NBA in scoring. Many of these articles have 3 point shooters as targets, as we are 27th in the league.
But there are reasons for that. First we were shooting around 22% over our first 15 games. Now we are up to 33%. Our biggest problem is who is shooting the 3. LeBron and Russ take 11 of our 30 threes a game. And they are combined 29%. LeBron is actually last in the NBA. Yes even worse than Russ. Take out those 2 and the rest of the team is shooting 36%. Good enough.
When you consider how we run our offense, would adding a 3 point sniper help that much. We rarely set up plays for a 3 point shot. Our 3’s are generated through drive and kicks and the open man takes the shot, regardless of how well they shoot 3’s.
Our biggest need was on full display against the Griz. We desperately need a wing with size that can defend and rebound. We generally get crushed on the offensive boards with our small line ups. And if that wing can hit a 3, that is a bonus. Bogdanovic is a popular name. But how many shots would he actually get with the way we play. Defensively his on only fair and is getting a mere 3 boards a game.
For me the wing with size and rebounding should be our goal. The only question will that guy become available. My feeling is, if one doesn’t surface, I would hold onto my assets because there will be a few available in free agency this summer. While if we were healthy I feel we would be pretty good, I don’t see a realistic game changing trade in this sellers market. The worst thing this team could do is make a trade that could keep us mediocre for years to come.
“For me, the wing with size and rebounding should be our goal.”
Yes Sir! Those are the words of the day. Thank you, Michael.
Thanks Bubba.
Me likes Bojan and Miles.
You are like Tom DJ. You don’t look at the whole picture. As the first option playing 31 minutes Bojon takes 5.9 3’s a game, makes 2.4 a game at 41%. He gets 3.6 rebounds a game and isn’t a great defender. How many 3’s do you think gets gets in this offense as the 3rd option? Lonnie is our current 3rd option. He takes 5.4 threes a game. He makes 2.1 a game 38% with 29 minutes a game. Troy averages 3.9 rebounds a game in 22 minutes. And he’s a better defender then Bojon, so is giving up a first round pick worth a 3rd option that makes .3 more 3’s a game and is not as good on defense or rebounding then Troy? I feel a wing with size that can rebound and defend is more valuable than that. Plus he is owed 19 mil next year, which limits what we can do in free agency.
I hear you, but if Walk and brown are such knock-down shooters they should be playing 35-40 minutes per.
My only hope is that we don’t trade young dudes or draft picks for anyone over 30 thinking they’ll help us make a run in the playoffs (we aint making a run). Time to roll up our sleeves and actually build a balanced roster. Kick Rob upstairs (they aint gonna fire him) and let the Buss boys do the heavy lifting.