2023-24 Running NBA thread

Is January the annual "LeBron demands Changes" Month or is it "Don't worry, they'll flip the switch in the playoffs" month?

Lakers reportedly losing patience with coach Darvin Ham; Austin Reaves says vibe is 's-----'

 

This is at least the second time the Warriors have seized defeat from the jaws of victory late. Their last game of the In Season Tournament vs. Sacramento comes to mind, but it seems like there were a couple more earlier this season. The couch psychologist will say it's all about Draymond, but I'm starting to swing toward the Barkley school of thinking: They may be at the end of their shelf life.

 

That team has a lot of bad habits, but they used to be good enough that they didn't matter.

They're not good enough anymore. Steph's no-look, cross-court hook pass through traffic with four seconds left in a tie game was spectacularly dumb. They do that shit all the time. They can't get away with it now.

 

What sucks from this Dub's fan's perspective is they showed glimmers of hope just two weeks ago. Now, especially after the benching of Kuminga last night, I'm leaning toward the Kerr-must-go side of the argument. That, or trade CP and Wiggins for anyone 6-11 or more.



Can you blue font a picture?

 

I don’t think this is Kerr’s fault. This is an aging roster issue and lack of size and depth.

• Green is their best defender but he can’t help but get suspended/ejected
• Klay is a shell of himself
• Wiggins hasn’t been right since he left the team for personal reasons last year
• Chris Paul was an all-in move that hasn’t paid off because of injury

They have bright spots but draft picks haven’t hit. They paid their big 3 at the expense of depth. They tried a two-timeline plan last year that predictably failed.

The only thing I lay at Kerr’s feet is not helping Dreymond get his head right sooner and not developing guys like Kuminga to play consistently.

But the team is too afraid to tear down while Steph still has something left and is bit them in the butt.

 

CP3 wasn’t an all in move — it was a way to get off of Poole’s contract.

 

Building on @PCLoadLetter 's point, they must now choose offense/defense with the guys on the floor. CP3 (age, size) and Kuminga (brains) are defensive liabilities and Looney (mileage) and GP II (now injured) are two guys you don't have to guard on offense. Additionally, their pace doesn't look right. CP3 plays a more deliberate style and Kuminga is a ball-stopper.

Barkley is right in saying that Kuminga and Wiseman were killers because whiffing on two guys drafted that high will always come home to kill you. Wiseman bombing out at #2 is, in a way, similar to the Celtics getting nothing but a notable tragedy from Len Bias. Rather than contributing to the maintenance of the dynasty, they contributed nothing and only highlighted the areas of decay.

 

Drafting these 19 year old kids a year removed from prom is such a crap shoot. You can’t expect even half of the top 15 to work out most years.

 

Chris Paul has to be the career leader in breaking his hand on someone else's jersey.

In semi-related news, the Warriors eke out a win after trailing in the last two minutes to Detroit. At home.

 

CP3-6 weeks living up to his name.

 

I don’t think Kuminga is a whiff just yet, he’s coming on.

Klay is going down fast. He plays now like “I can f**k up now, I’ve got 4 rings.”

Steph’s horrendous TO was just another example of how they make some stupid plays that lose games now. Vets should know better. Steph is unbelievably great, I just don’t understand the brain farts, I can’t think of any other HOF’er doing such stupid things.

I have a hard time blaming Kerr, he’s a reason they won and now he’s trusted the vets and he’s got to be the guy to tell them they’re post fresh time.

 

Father Time remains undefeated.