Luke_FfS

Exactly, that was more disrespectful to Paul than Meer!

We also commit a big big number of turnovers for a team with such a high IQ.... I agree that will be a really important learning curve. We still have to enter playoffs so it's possibly too early to discuss that, but our best quality has been defense, and will be hard to improve that a lot in playoffs. Other teams will tighten defense more, and like already commented by other members, our lack of spacing will be even more exposed. We'll need to control turnovers a lot more than we're doing now. Whatever will be the opponent, I predict a difficult time for us. We'll learn for sure, and hopefully management will learn too. I've still the sensation that in the future, we'll remember the deadline 2024 as a missed opportunity.

And in the meantime, while we always suffer for guard production, Murray has 41 points, and Hawks with a good record since Trae is out...

I don't like the way we're playing with fire week after week. But I do love the way this team believe that they can win any game at this point. It's not a given in such a young group.

Well, we were at full health just 24h ago. A lot of time we're just managing players, it's our decision, not bad luck. And for the first time is also working, because we have the depth and the role players ready for the bigger task. We also played a lot of times against teams that were missing key players, so we can't really be mad about that.

In his situation at the time, I would have asked too probably. And yes, that was the point, he embraced being the 4th option in a great team and has grown a lot into that role, wasn't probably as happy to be whatever option he was in a disfunctional team behind the Vuch&Evan show. That was my regret, being traded at the same deadline, he actually played all of his Magic career in that bad environment. We were unable to maximize his strenghts: when Isaac was still fully healthy, I remember we didn't even tried to use them together at 4&5... when the rest of the league was crazy for GS Death Lineup. He was the only one of the three players traded ready to shine and win. (I actually was really proud of him when Denver won the title) The other two weren't unable to even make better their average teams by any mean. Gordon has been a key piece, a missing link in a great team.

I honestly don't even know how that DARKO system works, I only know Darko Milicic! :P I've just posted the same graph that was used for Vuch, and even if I agree that Aaron fits perfectly in Denver and that helps, I was sure he had another gear and he wasn't properly used in his time in Orlando. Would have liked to keep him a little more, when the rebuild button was pushed (too late). Was still young and potentially a fit in the new project too.

I wanted the Vuch-Fournier out a lot before they were traded, but I'm still a little nostalgic about Aaron. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GH6z375W0AAAles?format=jpg&name=medium

Already posted in this same thread a page and a day ago! :P Lowe's words sounds like he was expecting a move too for our guard rotation. Hope we don't spend in FA for the classic guy that explode in playoofs. See Jordan Poole, that everyone was in love to a few season ago, and now is mentioned in the same Lowe article.... for other reasons!

https://www.espn.com.au/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/39623501/lowe-nikola-jokic-most-terrifying-sight-nba

Great news, when I heard him screaming I was so worried for him.... not again. And thanks to Soul Bro to trying to put back the discussion on track!

Great W, our bench mob has been outstanding in a lot of games, too bad it was terrible only in the national televised one!

The downside for me is pretty simple. Even if we're able to get him for such a low price (and that's a big if, those kind of trades happen only in LA, and I don't see why Atlanta would do that if he's such a good player...) I would be against cause he seems to me the classic player that always show great stats and highlights, makes you win a few more games in regular season, and then became a liability in the playoffs, when opposite coaches will easily target him. There've been a lot of players like that in the past, RW and Harden are two that came to my mind (not because they're similar, just for the fact that they're great on paper with the stats, and bad on reality when the games actually matters) If we want to make a move to sell more tickets and being a mediocre playoff team for the time being, Trae is a perfect fit tough. But if we really want to win a ring, that's the kind of move I'll gladly avoid.

After a lot of time waiting with no moves by the FO, if the final price is Trae, I'll be totally disappointed, to not say worst things... that's the move that would completely ruin all the good things we have in place. When the All star weekend will finally be changed? Paolo would have been better with some time off or some training with the team...

Good to enter the break with a convincing W against a rival!

The blank injury report didn't last too long... :(

We'll pick another non-shooter in the first round and then trade the 2nd for cash as we usually do? those second rounders that are actually inserted in a lot of trades... and then sign a free agent to a high amount of money just because we have available cap space? that's the standard of our lovely summers! :P

I've been quite critical about how passive the FO has been in the last 2+ seasons actually, even when a lot of members here were really high on them. I have no reasons for moan now, I would have been disappointed if I was expecting something, and I was not. All I can do is hope that you and the management are right, and I've been terribly wrong for all this time.

Here we go again! LOLOL Great, great win. That said, we're still playing with fire. It's a few games that we give up almost 40 in the first quarter alone, and that's not the mindset we can have as a defensive minded team. Sometimes you recover and still win, sometimes not.

Seems another player after the in-season injury. Sometimes look like is brain goes really too fast for his body. Hope he'll recover cause was a big part of our second unity at the start of the season.

Was also here when we picked Mo Bamba ahead of Wendell, for whom we traded for later, and ahead of Shai, Bridges, Sexton, Porter Jr and a few others. In hindsight, we can play that game forever. EDIT: sorry, I got the sense of your post later. But the point still stand somehow, even if Bamba had lenght and SHOOTING too! :D Franz is also a decent shooter, but not a great one, and at the time we probably didn't need another big... we already had the wrong Mo.

At 11 a shooter that is not a PG and clearly not ready if Traveling is getting minutes ahead of him. The lenght theory should possibly be a good one in today NBA. Problem is, we don't look to have a shooting coach good enough to accomplish that, as Engeland did with Kawhi for example. That's why I repeat without a pause that we still have a lot to improve, and not only inside the roster. Mosley look like he has a great connection with players and a good defensive minded system (except in recent games): what about hiring a top offensive assistant coach? (just an example, could be applied in a lot of things needed to win a title. There're a lot of contenders every season, but only 1 wins it all and it's extremely hard. You need to cover every single detail for that)

We played with fire and get burned. Against an awful offensive team like Memphis, 68 points at the half are unacceptable. We had that winning streak because we were playing harder than rivals and full focused on defense, not because we have elite talent that can win the game by themselves..

Every month they waited was a month too much. That move was necessary a lot of time before.

I've always liked your optimism, but we have and always had different point of views about our situation. A lot of the problems are not recent, were there last season too and weren't adressed. I like the team but a lot need to be done in all fronts. BTW, initially you were considering us contenders, now 2nd round playoff team!!! :P