[Game] Kings vs. Magic 1/9/2023 7pm Pacific 10pm Eastern
- Thread starter Tetsujin
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The thing is, you could do that if your players can shoot and defend. As great as Paolo is, he can't really do either, he's not that lengthy, and he plays the NBA's most irrelevant position. His forte is being a mobile big with ball skills, you can work with that.
If you sort out their mess of a guard rotation with someone like Scoot Henderson, in theory you could do what the Kings do with Fox and Sabonis, stack 2-4 with shooting in Huerter, Barnes, and Keegan. But that relies on the idea of Franz being a better shooter than he actually is, and Paolo being a pure 4 who can't shift down into the 5.
If you sort out their mess of a guard rotation with someone like Scoot Henderson, in theory you could do what the Kings do with Fox and Sabonis, stack 2-4 with shooting in Huerter, Barnes, and Keegan. But that relies on the idea of Franz being a better shooter than he actually is, and Paolo being a pure 4 who can't shift down into the 5.
some of that is just pure basketball iq and doing what the coaches ask. I have no doubt he would average 17-20 points if he was on Detroit or Orlando.
if he just keeps building on the small improvements he has made cutting, defending and passing he has a chance to be a super efficient player who impacts winning big time. He needs to get stronger and be more aggressive on the boards.
if he just keeps building on the small improvements he has made cutting, defending and passing he has a chance to be a super efficient player who impacts winning big time. He needs to get stronger and be more aggressive on the boards.
Almost edited and added “It wasn’t just Bagley that made that team’s defense so laughably bad.” before you responded. Lmao
Honestly as much as I always despised Bagels, I wanted to ship Holmes even back then and get a guy who complimented Bagel’s zero defense gameplan. Not a complimentary pairing those two.
Honestly as much as I always despised Bagels, I wanted to ship Holmes even back then and get a guy who complimented Bagel’s zero defense gameplan. Not a complimentary pairing those two.
It's a minor miracle they were even able to win games with that frontline.
But honestly, even beyond Bagley, I think this fanbase's perception of centers and their defense is warped. Defensive stalwart bigs aren't exactly a Sacramento thing.
We went from Vlade, to Brad Miller, to Cousins, to WCS, to Holmes, to now Sabonis. All star offensively oriented bigs, or just bad centers in general, but especially bad defensively for those two.
But honestly, even beyond Bagley, I think this fanbase's perception of centers and their defense is warped. Defensive stalwart bigs aren't exactly a Sacramento thing.
We went from Vlade, to Brad Miller, to Cousins, to WCS, to Holmes, to now Sabonis. All star offensively oriented bigs, or just bad centers in general, but especially bad defensively for those two.
He came over for pennies on the dollar and outplayed our second year second overall and the stretch big that was out big signing to compliment our #2 overall which of course inflated his perceived value but he was also always a guy you could bench if he got cold and not worry about what you were paying him. It's fair to say he earned his contract but also clear he was a one trick pony in Walton's ponyshow.
Might just be he hit his ceiling as a player a few years back and as he's getting older (29) is starting to lose some of the athleticism/energy that made him a damn good 2-way player. The eye injuries likely don't help either where maybe he's thinking a little bit too much about mixing it up inside and having those patented energy plays. Was really dang good for 7 years, that's a lot longer than a good chunk of the league. Not everyone can keep their form 10+ years, especially role players. It's pretty rare actually
Paolo doesn't need the shot in his game to succeed, but he's not an entirely non-shooter. In 4.2 attempts, he's shooting at 31.9%. It's not great, but he's showing a willingness to shoot, and an ability to make them. His FT % is pretty good for his archetype at 76.1%. I think he'll continue to improve his shot. He has a lot of room left to grow as a shooter. If it was a situation where he was like Fox or Sabonis in their 6th/7th year with no signs of any consistent 3pt shooting, then yeah... I'd be willing to give up on him ever becoming a competent shooter. But it's not really the case here. He's a rookie barely half-way through his 1st season in the NBA who's shown improvement every month. I don't really like the Fox-Sabonis comparison because I think he's already a WAY more capable shooter than Sabonis, while also not being that far away from Fox.
With that being said, I don't think it really matters if his 3pt shot comes along or not. He's one of the most promising young players in the league who has the numbers to back it up. 21.4pts 6.7rebs 3.9asts 0.9stls 0.5blks on 43.9/31.9/76.1 as a rookie.
Franz is fine at 35%. I think he needs to shoot better, but he's not handicapping Paolo. The real "issue" are all the guards on the roster who can't shoot. Suggs, Fultz, and Anthony? Punt them all. Yeah you might've invested too much in them, but they aren't very good and don't fit your long-term team goals (at least they shouldn't).
With that being said, I don't think it really matters if his 3pt shot comes along or not. He's one of the most promising young players in the league who has the numbers to back it up. 21.4pts 6.7rebs 3.9asts 0.9stls 0.5blks on 43.9/31.9/76.1 as a rookie.
Franz is fine at 35%. I think he needs to shoot better, but he's not handicapping Paolo. The real "issue" are all the guards on the roster who can't shoot. Suggs, Fultz, and Anthony? Punt them all. Yeah you might've invested too much in them, but they aren't very good and don't fit your long-term team goals (at least they shouldn't).
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