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Marshall Plan
Posted on 2/29/24 at 11:16 am
Posted on 2/29/24 at 11:16 am
Trying to approach this topic with open eyes instead of what I watched last night. Besides effort most of the time, what does he contribute to a winning program? I don't want to hear "He got that dawg in him".
8
Posted on 2/29/24 at 11:23 am to yallgood
The biggest mistake we made this season is not trading him at deadline. I said this at deadline we’ll regret not trading Naji because Willie wont play Hawkins or Ryan which are better for this team.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 11:38 am to yallgood
He provides a spark off the bench when he’s on, pretty useless when he’s off his game though
Posted on 2/29/24 at 11:38 am to Pels_Yaz
quote:
The biggest mistake we made this season is not trading him at deadline. I said this at deadline we’ll regret not trading Naji because Willie wont play Hawkins or Ryan which are better for this team.
Who’s going to trade you for Naji?
Posted on 2/29/24 at 11:40 am to yallgood
It’s pretty much the flavor of the month to bang relentlessly on Naji. He’s been huge for us in several games. He’s also been pretty good shooting the three. He’s also been awful in a lot of games, like last night. But he’s a role player and last time I checked most role players shouldn’t be expected to be really productive every time out. When he’s playing poorly it would help if we went elsewhere for second half minutes. Like last night, when it was certainly worth seeing what Matt could bring. It’s not like our defense could have been much worse.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 11:45 am to BigPerm30
quote:
Who’s going to trade you for Naji?
I was hoping to dump him for a second.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 11:48 am to LSUgrad88
quote:
But he’s a role player and last time I checked most role players shouldn’t be expected to be really productive every time out. When he’s playing poorly it would help if we went elsewhere for second half minutes. Like last night, when it was certainly worth seeing what Matt could bring. It’s not like our defense could have been much worse.
I agree with what you’re saying. Personally, I think its Willie’s weird attachment to Naji that kills this team not Naji specifically the player. If Naji struggling one night thats ok- try other guys on the roster. Willie NEVER does that. He’ll stick with a player in the rotation like Naji or Nance regardless if they’re helping us win or not. Its horrendous coaching honestly and not utilizing the deep bench that he has. Its why someone should have saved Willie from over using Naji.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 11:50 am to yallgood
Marshall and Alvarado both play hard and make under 2M a season. Zeller makes over 3M. I'm never going to blame either of those guys, who are 8-9th men, for the teams struggles. They are depth pieces. They just happen to be fan favorites too..
Posted on 2/29/24 at 2:32 pm to brmark70816
I would hardly say that Naji is a fan favorite. Really the only time he is universally praised is when he gets into scraps lol. I also do agree that the player himself isn't so much the problem or overall frustration, it's that Willie plays him way too many minutes when it is clear he is struggling. Last night being one of those many ocassions. To not even try Matt Ryan is indefensible imo.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 2:45 pm to yallgood
Naji's good, punching above his salary weight and does bring energy off the bench. This is more on Pels staff in not having a feel for how the game's going. They have this weird thing with set rotations. In last night's game, Matt may have given you more, but Naji was already penciled in.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 3:00 pm to Pistol44
Naji is fine in spurts. Playing him nearly 30 minutes a night is coaching malpractice. He has 3 points total in the last 2 games while playing nearly 60 minutes and it's not like he's giving you elite defense like Dyson.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 3:03 pm to BigPerm30
quote:
Who’s going to trade you for Naji?
They had offers of multiple seconds for Naji from tax teams. His salary is low enough that he can provide wing rotation minutes without impacting salary cap.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 3:04 pm to Pistol44
The biggest point of contention with Willie's philosophy and the arm chair experts on this board is that he doubles down on the defense in his rotations, while most of us here want to open up the offense. With Dyson out, Naji is the 2nd best wing defender available. That is why he is getting the minutes he's getting. I guarantee that most of the people complaining about Naji would be complaining about Dyson instead if he were healthy and not having one of his rare not bad offensive performances.
We think we're right to want more offense, but Willie has the Pels in 6th place in the West, 13th in ORtg, 6th in DRtg, and 5th in NetRtg. So it's hard to say he's wrong, he's just doing it differently than we'd prefer. Everyone complaining about the rotations, do you think skewing more to offense would improve the offense enough to cover the drop in defense and not fall in NetRtg or wins?
Jordan Hawkins has the worst DRtg on the team and is a -1.1 NetRtg. What's interesting to me though, is by the eye test and by the stats, Matt Ryan is pulling his weight on both sides of the ball. Him not earning Willie's trust is a little surprising.
We think we're right to want more offense, but Willie has the Pels in 6th place in the West, 13th in ORtg, 6th in DRtg, and 5th in NetRtg. So it's hard to say he's wrong, he's just doing it differently than we'd prefer. Everyone complaining about the rotations, do you think skewing more to offense would improve the offense enough to cover the drop in defense and not fall in NetRtg or wins?
Jordan Hawkins has the worst DRtg on the team and is a -1.1 NetRtg. What's interesting to me though, is by the eye test and by the stats, Matt Ryan is pulling his weight on both sides of the ball. Him not earning Willie's trust is a little surprising.
This post was edited on 2/29/24 at 3:05 pm
Posted on 2/29/24 at 3:31 pm to yallgood
Switchable on defense 1-4. Probably one of the better passers and ball handlers on the team. Has the strength to make tough finishes around the basket. Good free throw shooter.
Good teammate, feel like the locker room revolves around him and jose.
Good teammate, feel like the locker room revolves around him and jose.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 3:36 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
Everyone complaining about the rotations, do you think skewing more to offense would improve the offense enough to cover the drop in defense and not fall in NetRtg or wins?
The pels were the 6th best defense in the league last season and finished 9th in the west and lost in the play- in. So the answer to your question yes I think improved offense would make this team better despite a drop in our defense. The whole NBA is skewed towards offense, including rule changes, yet our coach continously is obsessed with defense.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 3:37 pm to SouthMSReb
quote:
Good teammate, feel like the locker room revolves around him and jose.
You’re not wrong but kind of strange to have your locker room revolve around the 9th and 10th guy in the rotation.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 4:46 pm to yallgood
Marshall is ranked maybe 99th on the franchise’s list of problems
Not sure why so many choose him as the main scapegoat so often
Not sure why so many choose him as the main scapegoat so often
Posted on 2/29/24 at 9:20 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
The biggest point of contention with Willie's philosophy and the arm chair experts on this board is that he doubles down on the defense in his rotations
Don't disagree with anything you said, you can argue Pels defense has kept the team afloat this year.
This post was edited on 2/29/24 at 9:32 pm
Posted on 2/29/24 at 9:34 pm to Pistol44
For the record I want them to at least try more offensively skewed lineups because the biggest thing holding the Pels back is the stars not being good enough, and with more space, in theory they become better. That being said, Willie’s choices being wrong are not black and white like the board wants it to be.
The only thing they are consistently bad at is dealing with pressure. Having an extra shooter won’t help when you can’t even get into your set because your only high level ball handler is typically not one of your finishers.
The only thing they are consistently bad at is dealing with pressure. Having an extra shooter won’t help when you can’t even get into your set because your only high level ball handler is typically not one of your finishers.
Posted on 2/29/24 at 11:03 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
The only thing they are consistently bad at is dealing with pressure.
For sure, but you get that with a team of wings. Defense is surprisingly good, given holes at the point of attack and at the rim, for those in the know. Pels are good at getting over screens this year, something the board railed on last year. Naji was just the ire of the night but has played well this year, he's playing more minutes at critical times since Dyson went down. But Naji is one of Pels bigger wings.
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