Justin Jaudon

I was screaming the whole 4th quarter for them to get Fournier out of the game. That guy is garbage when his shot's not falling. Isaac was our best player for a lot of the game and we benched him for the 4th. I know Cliff had him in their because we were struggling so much on offense, but it's frustrating because Fournier didn't really help our offense in the 4th, and he hurt our defense. Needed to just let Isaac play. Might have kept Siakam from owning us quite so much for the 4th. As an aside, how stupid is Toronto for continually running isos for Leonard against Gordon. Gordon owns him on isos.

I just think there are 8-10 legitimately better picks, and I don't see the teams between 10 and 15 taking him. Maybe Charlotte, if there's not a comparable PG like Garland available, or if they know they're going full rebuild. If the Lakers actually use their pick (doubtful), they're not picking a project; Charlotte may feel the same if they think they can retain Kemba; Miami desperately needs a young PG to groom (my brain refuses to accept Justise Winslow as a PG, so maybe I'm wrong); Boston just has soooo many wings already; and I'll admit Detroit is a weird mystery to me, but he just doesn't seem to fit there (I feel like they value shooting too much to draft Little).

Is it weird I think Nassir Little ends up our pick? I was just talking with a Tar Heels fan about how he's going to be a mid-round pick (just a feeling we both have that's where he'll go), and I realized he won't fall past Orlando, because he's exactly what we always pick. Raw, good motor, long as hell, needs to learn to shoot. If he's there at 16, I think our FO just calls his name out of reflex.

here, here. **** Kyle Kuzma indeed. Wouldn't want him to have to come to a playoff team down in Orlando when he can live his best life losing with the Lakers.

Pretty sure Gordon's defense isn't why Leonard scored 37. From what I saw, almost all of those points came off switches or crazy heaves that went in with Gordon draped all over him. Pretty much just like the 25 he had in game 1, when everyone admitted Gordon played great D despite Leonard's #s. Leonard is just playing out of his mind right now, and the team didn't do well switching on to him last night

Do we need to not play Vuc second half? He's been awful.

OMG. So, all the emotions I've been bottling up all year over this team just released when that shot went through. I've stayed cool all year, because I realized I needed to change how much I invest in sports. After high-fiving my wife the eighth time, she just laughed and reminded me I can change how much I watch, how much I check stats and chat about this stuff online; but I'm just in love with this team, no matter what. Feels good. Feels so very good.

So, apparently I picked a good game to start watching again. Hope this means we're making a playoff run in the second half of the season.

So I promised myself I'd wait till after the trade deadline to watch (I needed a break from the disappointment of the last few seasons, and I didn't want to deal with the 'will they trade Vuc and Ross' all season), so I have been pretty loosely following the team. Excited for my season to begin. Finally getting to watch part of a game tonight, here going into the 4th quarter.

Don't toy with my emotions, man

I approve.

I tried this weeks ago with TMF. It's not going to work. Sees every bit of constructive criticism as a personal attack. Massive persecution complex.

Just to bring it up, is Kevin Durant the least likeable player in the league? At this point, I'm voting yes. Dude has the grace and self-awareness of a retarded peacock.

He'll have competition from the Chinese league legend Jimmer Freddett

That's just... I mean... I didn't think I'd ever hear an NBA player sound quite that stupid about basketball. They don't pay people to play defense? Somebody should tell that to Dwight Howard, Hassan Whiteside, Otto Porter Jr., Al Horford, Mike Conley, and Paul Millsap; they don't get paid top 25 money because of their stellar offense. They get paid either because they are elite defensive players with passable offense, or they're very good at both ends of the floor, but not quite good enough on one end to warrant such high pay. Even among the younger guys in his own rookie class, does he think Gordon makes 20 per year for his 17 points per game alone, or that Marcus Smart gets reportedly more than $10 million per despite being one of the worst shooters for his really good offensive screens?

I agree. But I think he has a solid chance to be starting caliber better Mack.

Because they have a younger version of him in Dunn. They're basically the same player, just Dunn is a year younger. Grant was redundant talent for them.

I don't have a problem with?4thewin's comments. He's not getting excited over a guy who has yet to win a starting job in the NBA. I get it. I'm just saying I think it might be Jerian4thewin by the end of the season. He's not going to be an All-Star, but I think he can be a PG version of his uncle Horace: a does all the little things that help you win guy who fans love.

Grant is absolutely elite at defending the PnR, which is the most important thing for a PG these days, defensively; and he's strong enough on the switch not to get blown up by bigger guys. He is elite at a lot of the small things that don't show up on the stat sheets. He's an average rebounder, only slightly above average with steals, so metrics don't like him as much. But as an on-ball defender, something metrics have a hard time showing, yes, he is elite.

But he's much, much more physically gifted than Mack. Dude is super-athletic. And last year he showed tremendous strides as a passer. Offensively, Grant, if he doesn't take another step forward, if a better Mack. But he's a very gifted athlete who is already one of the best on-ball defenders in the league at the guard spot. Mack topped out as a good backup because he didn't have the size, quickness, speed, and athleticism to overcome his shortcomings as a shooter on offense, and defensively he's only just above average with lateral movement. Grant has those things at elite levels. He's basically an elite athlete guard who lacks the skills to be elite offensively. It's why he's so intriguing to me. Skills can be learned, acquired, built up. I think he has the mentality to make a jump, if anyone does. He really could surprise people.

I think we may be misunderstanding each other. I'm excited about Orlando's future. I just don't think we'll be spending a bunch of money next off-season, even if we have it. I'm expecting patience, and that's okay with me.

Hats off to you, sir.

I wouldn't get too excited. The reason this FO is so much better than the last is that they don't seem the type to spend money just to spend it. We'll more likely keep our options open and build through smart contracts and good moves... hopefully... unless something major falls to us. I could see us trying to make noise in 2020 or 2021 FA. Not so much next year.

To be fair (from someone who didn't really want Trae either), this is pretty much exactly what I remember many people say about Kemba. Like, almost word for word.

To keep the baseball terminology, I don't think this FO is planning to swing for the fences unless someone puts an easy one over the plate. Unless some big name falls in our laps for some weird reason, I doubt we're setting up for a big spending spree. Why? Because Victor Oladipo, that's why. We traded Dipo because we didn't want to pay him. We had the cap space, but Hennigan wasn't confident in his own build (because there wasn't a good plan in place, a team concept beyond 'good player' who can't shoot). So he tried to swing for the fences and lost what turned out to be his best talent. The great thing about consistently hitting singles is that when you do hit a home run, the bases are often loaded. Take the Isaac pick last year. I didn't like it. It was safe. In a vacuum, I still think DSJ might be the BPA at that point. But I didn't understand how this management team works, then. I'm starting to, I think. See, DSJ might have been the BPA, the swing for the fences pick I would have liked. But he didn't fit what the FO was looking for. So they just got contact, as they say. Singled out, maybe doubled, with Isaac. But with Gordon already on base, we had now two on. Bamba makes it three on. With the bases loaded, you don't swing at everything that comes to you. You wait for it. Maybe this trade is a single, and we get a run in (maybe Jerian turns out to be a solid starter). Maybe it's a foul down the line, and we stay at bat. But we're not swinging at Isaiah Thomas, because that's not what the FO is looking for. Going for Isaiah Thomas at this point is like trying to take a slider yard when we're looking for it high and over the plate. Sure, maybe we get good contact and bring everyone in. More likely we fly out.