re: Zach Lowe splashes a little cold water on Pels

Turns out, Zach Lowe is a pretty smart guy.

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Note to self: when Zach Lowe says something, take it as gospel.

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Damn reading the OP, Lowe NAILED the analysis.

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Damn reading the OP, Lowe NAILED the analysis.

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Didn't need Lowe to point this out. It was obvious to many. Sad that it was not obvious to Griffin and Langdon.

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if it wasn't for dog shite coaching and injuries

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The Pels fan credo.

The reality is that the players weren’t good enough. They were in position to succeed over and over again and they just sucked. They missed shots, turned it over, allowed easy baskets at the end of games. These are Stan issues to some extent but the lion’s share of the blame falls on the players.

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These are Stan issues to some extent but the lion’s share of the blame falls on the players.

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Or the President and GM that put together such a weird roster with a lack of depth, shooting, and defensive flexibility.

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Yet another thread a handful of us trying to be objective got hit endlessly that we were ultimately in the right.

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Did you expect Bledsoe to be a 35% 3 point shooter, which he has regressed down to late in the season likely due to him not giving a shite anymore?


we went from 37% from 3 to 35%. We are also taking 17% less 3's than last year. We are taking more 2's, and making more 2's, up 2.3%. We are taking 11% more FT's than last year and shooting the same.
Our 3 point offense is obviously worst, but our offense as a whole isn't.
Our ORTG is up from 110 last year to 114 this year.



But the reason we suck has nothing to do with our offense.
Our defense is terrible. And that's why we lose.
Opponents are shooting 2.5% better from 3 and are taking 11% more 3's than us than last year. 2 point FG% has stayed the same, but people aren't taking as many against us, and teams arent' getting to the line as much against us as last year. Basically we are leaving guys wide open for 3 far too often, but we all already knew that.

Even with those issues, the Pels had so many games to close and they just sucked. And every time the majority of people here would blame Stan for that. Stan has done enough to put these guys in positions to win and they just frick it up left and right.

It’s year 1 for him. I’m willing to give him some time. But scheme alone isn’t going to get these guys to contender status.

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Lowe basically says that he doesn’t know what to think of this roster.

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All the concerns listed is what all the analyst including Lowe had mentioned prior to this season. It was well known that Adams was a terrible fit and doubling down on it by offering the extension was bad business.

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Also thinks our starting lineups shooting is going to shrink the floor down to a pinpoint.

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We often look at this as something that hurts Zion, but I believe it has had a much bigger effect on B.I. than anyone else.

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It’s a very good listen. Lowe basically says that he doesn’t know what to think of this roster.

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We have a ton of young players trying to figure out who they are in the modern NBA on a team devoid of vets.

These guys keep answering their own questions. They don’t know the answers either.

If Zion wasn’t so transcendent, people would be more patient with the roster. But he is. So people are expecting a team led by a 20 year old with no vets around him to be a playoff team immediately because he has banana numbers.

Adams probably does not fit. But look at the development of our bigs with him around.

Bledsoe probably does not fit. But look at how hard our guards play.

People “WANT IT NOW”, but they aren’t willing to look long term. To be even a little bit patient.

Zion is a unique piece. He’s a spacing void that can get to the rim and finish at an absurd rate anyways. There’s bigs playing off him that are just sagging 10-13 feet.

We shoot ~40% from 3 in wins and ~32% in losses (the gap is actually more like 8.2% but I’m rounding).

Opponents shoot ~42% from 3 when we lose and ~34% from 3 when we win. (Again it’s more 8.4% gap)

This isn’t rocket science. Figuring out how to play around Zion’s strengths AND weaknesses will likely take more than 80 games. He’s a weird and rare talent. Exciting as hell that he’s here, but people look at the stats and don’t watch games. And wonder “wtf” without seeing that there are nearly 5 guys just packing the paint every night.

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What? You really think Bledsoe not giving a shite is making our guards play hard?

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Bledsoe supposedly has been a great mentor to the younger guards on the team. That narrative isn't new.