re: Zach Lowe splashes a little cold water on Pels

quote:

---

I think the bottom line is they will go as far as Zion/Ingram carry them. On paper Ingram and Zion are the level of talent that usually gets you to the playoffs.

---

Which is why I am pretty hype. I think Zion is going to be THAT good and shut a lot of people the frick up. And BI is going to get even better.

But its alright to talk about concerns.

And I think everyone being intellectually honest, their ideal team surrounding Zion would have him surrounded by floor spacers.

quote:

---

Moore rarely stepped on the floor last year, even when healthy.

---

Moore played 56 games and averaged 18 minutes per game. 9th most total minutes on the team.

Those minutes will now be divvied up amongst players that are on paper not as strong of a shooter as Moore. Jrue’s 2100 minutes will now largely go to a player in Bledsoe that is not the shooter Jrue was and garners less respect as a spacer, even if both are not exactly considered prolific shooters.

I don’t think it is much of a stretch to say that on paper we are a weaker shooting team than last season and that it is unlikely SVG will prioritize and/or make the sort of sacrifices Gentry was willing to make in order to duct tape the shooting together.

Look at the form and the mechanics. Less wasted movement, more efficient from the catch to launch point, and the ball is no longer being launched from the side of his head. That gives me a lot of optimism that his shot will be viable and will not be easily blocked by a longer defender who attempts to sag off.

I will say it does look like Vinson has helped tweak Zion’s form a bit. His arm seems straight and no longer awkwardly flailed out to the side, the release more natural, higher up, and fluid. Can he develop that into muscle memory and not revert back to old habits during the season is always the trick with rebuilding someone’s shot?

Not sure I’m ready to proclaim him a 35% shooter on decent volume yet from two jump shots, but if he does develop a respectable three point shot, or even have the ability to add a jumper in the pick and roll, that would very much change the dynamic of our floor balance.

quote:

---

We have weaknesses and its pretty reasonable to discuss and recognize them.

---

I agree, IMO shooting just isn't a big weakness.

The weakness is basically the same as last year on offense. We may have issues beating defenses off the dribble 1v1, hopefully that is somewhat alleviated by actually running a half court offense.

I could see Lonzo being a mirage if he had a smaller sample size, but he shot it at such a high volume that I think at worst he's going to be an average 3 point shooter (35%) going forward.

quote:

---

We may have issues beating defenses off the dribble 1v1

---

You know what helps being able to beat defenses off the dribble? Spacing, and having a guy that can pull up off the dribble and drop a bomb.

quote:

---

He thinks Adams was a surprising move and he questions the fit. Thinks the cost to acquire Adams cap wise really hamstrung us in the depth department.

---

Ooh, there's gonna be a few guys on here who tell us that Zach Lowe doesn't know anything about the value of draft picks if they don't like this move for the Pels!!


Basically, that's all the questions I had and wondered why we gave up a 1st and thus ended free agency for us for the offseason.

quote:

---

Basically, that's all the questions I had and wondered why we gave up a 1st and thus ended free agency for us for the offseason.

---

The only person who knows what was out there for Hill and the pick from Denver was Griffin, and he chose to use it the way he did. We have no idea what he could've got for that, it's such a tired argument.

The worst are the people who straddle the fence by saying, "I don't like what we gave up for Adams, but I like Adams as a player". So, if he doesn't work out, you can always say, "see, we shouldn't have given up those assets for him, I knew this was a dumb move", or if he does work out, you can say "I always liked Adams".

You know what also helps penetrators like Bledsoe, Ingram and Zion? Keeps defenses from, in the famous words of SVG, forming a fricking wall? Spacing.

Right, but I'm just referring to beating your man on the perimeter. It's not often that you see players getting doubled on the perimeter, unless there is a trap or something. I don't see how spacing affects defense at the point of attack (outside of how defenses will play you in the PnR, but I'm referring to isolation, maybe that's the confusion), I do see how it can affect the help defense that occurs once your man is beaten though. One of the keys to good half court offense is forcing a team to collapse or use help defense, so that the player who is helped off of can take advantage of the situation. In order to force teams into that scenario, you need a good ball handler at the point of attack. IMO, last years team and this years team lack that player.

ETA: Do you think last years struggle on the offensive end was due to spacing, or due to a lack of a legitimate primary facilitator and shitty offensive philosophy? I think it was due to the latter, and I hope that it's alleviated at least partially, by having a legitimate philosophy/gameplan other than "pace".