JJZFL

Completely agree. The challenge will be to maintain that if we are losing most of our games. Aside from a drop in morale, players in that circumstance sometimes start to focus more on how they can stand out individually. Not saying that will happen this time with a different cast of characters but it did happen to us in the past.

I’m hoping for the best but I don’t think you can read as much into preseason as people are trying to do.

If they start losing consistently, it may take a lot of the enthusiasm away. We will just have to see how it looks when the games actually matter.

We should not read too much into preseason games that teams may not be trying very hard to win. Who did San Antonio have in the game during the 4th quarter? Lets regroup and decide how we look after 5-10 regular season games. As long as we’re playing hard, playing as a team, and hopefully not getting blown out often, I’ll be satisfied.

It was definitely a hotly discussed topic. I would not have been upset with going for the best shooter either.

In fairness, we weren’t getting both Barnes and Suggs. However, there have been a number of alternatives to Wagner who were drafted later on who’ve been discussed. I guess time will tell.

I hope that’s not the case. I don’t want to rely on one guy when the bench comes in. I want the bench playing team ball also.

How did you watch the game? I couldn’t find it on tv.

I know what you mean, and I have the same concerns you do.

He has been able to work on his conditioning longer than he’s been allowed back on the basketball court. For the large majority of people, recovery from Covid is complete after two weeks. It’s just another virus to most. They are obviously being extremely cautious but at some point we need to find out if he’s durable enough to have a career in the NBA.

First preseason game tomorrow. It’s only preseason but will be first look at team, although I’ve no idea if it’s televised. I’m curious to see what we have; in my mind this team could range anywhere from interesting well-coached athletic young group who play hard every night, making strides and becoming more cohesive, to total train wreck who look like they’re at a playground, to anywhere in between. We’ll have a better idea of the reality very soon.

I think Parker might be available.

I mean if 14 months isn't enough, who's to say that 15 is enough?

I’m kind of surprised about Isaac. I would have thought 14 months would be plenty. Could someone with some orthopedic knowledge please share their thoughts?

Should we retire the off-season thread at this point and post here instead?

I didn’t realize Isaac had previously had Covid and recovered. That is important context regarding the recent discussion here.

I hope you are right. For the first time in awhile, I’m kind of dreading this season. I really hope it doesn’t become Jacque Vaughn II.

I was only responding to the point being made about mutation. Even if everyone in the US were vaccinated, most of the people in the world aren’t, so it wouldn’t measurably change the risk of new mutations. Regarding Bamba, none of us know enough about his medical information to draw any conclusions. There were major concerns about his intensity and “motor” well before Covid. The mortality rate for Covid cannot be compared to that for influenza without some qualification for age. Below 20 for example, influenza actually has a higher mortality rate. For young adults, it’s probably about the same. Where Covid really becomes lethal is in the elderly.

The great majority of the unvaccinated aren’t in the US. Delta started in India, for example.

On a separate note altogether, training camp starts tomorrow. Not sure why it starts on a Tuesday; do they have an event if some sort today? Anyway, the season is getting closer, it will be time to retire this thread in a few weeks.

What are the statistics for 20 something year old athletes getting very sick from Covid? 1 in 20000 or less? Remember that for the great majority of healthy people in their 20s, Covid is at most a bad cold.

You’re the moderator, that’s up to you, but this whole vaccine discussion is basically political.

Much as I understand everyone’s strong opinions on both sides of this issue, I suspect this forum is not the right place for this discussion.

Amen

I think that an important part of avoiding the situation I describe above is to have strong leadership, both from players and coaches. We definitely didn’t have either the last time around. If the coach sees selfishness and someone playing for themselves, they need to bench that player and have a talk with them. There has to be accountability from day one, especially for a young team. Player leadership would be similar, telling the player who’s out of line to cut it out. It is possible that Suggs could provide that kind of leadership but it’s a lot to ask from a rookie.