This team has little hope until we get an upgrade over Zo and Bledsoe
This team has little hope until we get an upgrade over Zo and Bledsoe
Zion did what he could, but I don't like the idea of leaving him in the paint by himself at the 5 with no other help on the boards and interior D. SVG went with that line up for too long.
Now the Pels are staring at a 10-game losing streak with next 7 on the road in the West. This is an inferior product so far this year. Bad defense, turning the ball over far too many times - just like last year.
The biggest disappointment this year is that the team isn’t even fun to watch.
don't forget to blame Griffin as well, he basically assembled this team
Jesus we suck.
This team couldn?t get any more pathetic if we tried. Stay the course and a top 5 lottery pick is secured.
If we are gonna lose with all of these garbage "veterans" then just play Kira, Zion, Ingram, Jax, and call up Didi.
At least then we would have a good excuse.
I wouldn't call an 8 assist night "crumbling under pressure." Charlotte put the onus on this sad backcourt to produce and they produced 13 points, 9 assist, and 4 turnovers on 5 - 16 shooting...combined. Ingram did better than those two getting double and triple teamed all night.
And never mind the fact that Charlotte must have scored on 80% of their possessions in the 2nd half.
And to say he took nothing at the rim is disingenuous. He went 8 - 9 from the FT line. The most FT attempts on the team.
Yep, the team isn't perfect but the team construction doesn't have to be perfect yet, we're still in the process of building.
What the team *should* be doing is playing up to its abilities. We saw through the first few games that we can be better than this, so there's no excuse when we just go to garbage.
I would call 3/10 from the field with basically nothing in the paint and shooting this poorly in 4th quarters so far this season including 0.00% from 3 an example of someone who is struggling to produce.
Whether you want to call that pressure, or just an extremely specific and prolonged cold streak, that's up to you. The reality is that the production is not there.
Crumbling under pressure isn't what's happening. Poor coaching is what's happening.
He was gassed in the 4th in the game before last where he played poorly. Primarily because SVG went to him exclusively to do everything.. In addition, with better balance in the 4th we'd see better performances overall from Ingram and Zion. Even though I'm satisfied with what I've seen from him (Zion).. We could actually extract even more from him if he was managed properly.
I'd rather have less talented guards with high IQ than these jackwagons handling the ball. I saw several times they missed Zion on the baseline for a dunk. Instead they threw it to the 3pt line then turned the ball over.
It is utterly ridiculous to say Ingram is crumbling under pressure.. You gotta stop being so bias man.. Your commentary on Ingram is still all over the place.
Like I said, don't really care what you call it. He's not producing right now. We know he can, but it's not happening at the moment, and it's not good. You want to say that poor coaching is the reason, there's some truth to that. I would be highly reluctant to pretend that it's the only factor and just waive everything else as a component.
To add to that, we had to do a lot of course correcting from last year as well. So, we at this moment have a very thin roster, but have a foundation and direction. Next off season will be the first true progression building in like 3 years
I will say... Adding Lonzo to the AD trade has been an albatross and I hope we rid of him next year. It's not only best for Zion, but the NBA is a guard league. We've been having guard issues for damn near 10 years.
Points off turnovers says it all 14 to 27. All on guards. We need go get some off the street.
One of the things that I value more and more every year in basketball is high level decision making.
This team just doesn't have high level decision makers. To some degree a part of that is just the troubles of youth, but with some of our players it's just a fundamental flaw with how they approach basketball.
Ingram has improved a lot, and while he's still growing and still making mistakes sometimes, he's on a clear trajectory to being a very good decision maker.
Zion still has stuff to clean up, especially defensively, but he's a solid decision maker already.
Steven Adams is a very good decision maker.
Right now, that's it, that's the roster.
Again, still managed to get to the line for 8 FTs. If a team is dedicated to take you out then others need to produce.
If one of Bledsoe or Lonzo just had a Devonte Graham type night they win this game. And he shot 38% from the field and 25% from 3. Still managed to do enough to score 17 points, 8 assists, and 1 turnover.
Ignoring the bad starting guard play and the poor defense to concentrate on Ingram's 17, 8 and 8 for not being savior enough?
I'm not concentrating on Ingram lmao, I responded to someone else's comment about Ingram.
It was not a great game for him. That's just reality, I'm sorry if you're offended by me saying that.
I agree that Lonzo and Bledsoe were worse. I've commented on Lonzo a number of times across this thread alone and have spent months saying I want him *gone* off the team in its entirety: if your complaint is that you think I'm being too lenient on Lonzo then I'm sorry, unless you want me to just start insulting him personally there's not much more I can do.
This is Ingram's 1st year of carrying the load in the 4th. It's going to be rocky, but that's how stars ascend and get better.
I dont pay attention to these boards during the games. No he didnt have a great game but you usually wont getting double and triple teamed. Thats just reality.
We agree Lonzo and Bledsoe were worse. But there is nothing to be done about it. Can't force Kira out there. Nobody is trading for Lonzo or Bledsoe.
The defense was equally bad tonight. Charlotte just looked like a better team. It is what it is.
It's not fair on him though, the way we're doing things. He clearly needs some support and we're not doing it. Not only in terms of the roster construction, but the coaching as well: Zion needs to be on the floor in those final few minutes, and we need to run plays that involve both of them to split the attention of the defense. Just throwing him out there and asking him to make stuff happen is not fair.
Ingram isn’t my concern, it’s the bums around him that can’t do crap that concern me. Ingram for all intents and purposes is doing what he needs to do, every other joker wearing fleur de Lis jerseys is letting this team down.
During "clutch" time he was gassed game before last because there was no balance.. He's 23 years old, an all-star, and putting up consistently better numbers across the board every season. Everyone knows your commentary is off on Ingram in this board. So I guess what you're saying now should be expected.
You said the production isn't there.. The numbers don't reflect that sentiment. And yes this is all about coaching. Positioning your best players to play efficiently.
Do we even have a plan on how to develop our young talent? We have 3 guys from last years draft, and 1 guy from this years draft all occupying roster spots, but I can swear only 1 out of 4 are actually developing.
Obviously this isn’t the final form of the roster that Griffin is constructing, but I don’t see how any other team views these bums as assets, or carrying any value more than being door stops.
We are asking ingram to do way too much and the team relies on him so much as well... heavy iso's with pick and roll, heavy minutes, the only one that can really create for himself and others then trying to play defense...he is probably burned,especially doing this all for the first time in his career
He does have to play better in the fourth. That's just objectively true.
But he doesn't have to do that alone, and he shouldn't forced to fight the coach and the lineup to do it either. The job of the coach (during gametime, not talking about the other stuff) is to put the players in the position to succeed. Right now, that's not happening for Ingram. So that needs to change. He needs to play better but he should be helped to do so, and his job should be made easier so that he can do so. Can't expect him to work miracles.
At this point I'd bench either Lonzo or Bledsoe and start NAW. Just shake things up.
I really wish Griff would have traded Lonzo in the short off season like most of us thought. I can't believe no one would have taken the bait.
That was another mistake.
I could be wrong but I don't see SVG taking Zo, or Bledsoe out of the starting lineup for NAW.. He might take one out for JJ if he gets his shot back.
Does anyone know if he's the kind of coach that's open to making adjustments when they're warranted?
Play NAW and Kira.