2016-2017 Season Discussion Thread

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

The Spurs haven’t had a big man as athletic as Dedmon in years; you’d have to go all the way back to a young David Robinson to find the last one. They have mostly preferred to play more skilled guys next to Duncan, who was nominally a power forward and functionally a center for well over a decade. Dedmon has shown flashes of a midrange jumper, but the ideal role for his skill set is clear: run up and down the court, swat shots, snatch rebounds, set screens, and roll to the rim. Doing all that would have been difficult next to Duncan, who played closer to the rim and stopped shooting as many jumpers as he got older. For as great as he still was, Duncan was no longer much of a threat as a roll man in the two-man game, and none of the Spurs’ main big men last season were anywhere near as effective in that role as Dedmon. Though his limited minutes with the Magic restricted his opportunities in the pick-and-roll, he excelled with the chances he did get. Dedmon scored 1.38 points per possession as the roll man, putting him in the 96th percentile of players in the league, and behind only DeAndre Jordan in pick-and-roll efficiency among players who engaged in the play type on at least 65 possessions.

 

The Spurs and Dedmon are the perfect marriage of team and player. Dedmon gives San Antonio’s frontcourt the athletic dimension it desperately needs, while the Spurs have simplified the game for him and allowed him to do what he does best. The Spurs don’t ask him to do much on offense, but they also don’t need him to, not with all the shooting and skill that surrounds him. It’s the same story on defense, where Dedmon is blocking shots at a career-high rate. A rim protector can be more effective when paired with veteran teammates who understand the defensive scheme and can funnel penetration toward him. It was the blind leading the blind in Orlando, where Dedmon was moved in and out of the rotation on a rebuilding team that has never really figured out an identity in the post–Dwight Howard era. The Magic have seen several young players flourish once they left town; Dedmon could be added to the list if he builds on the production he’s had up to this point.

 

Through the first five games of the season, Dedmon is averaging 5.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks a game in only 17.1 minutes, making him one of the most productive per-minute rebounders and shot blockers in the NBA. Dedmon did not have a good game against Utah in San Antonio’s 106–91 loss on Tuesday, but his early output overall has been a net positive. His value to what the Spurs are trying to accomplish can’t be captured in a traditional box score, anyway. Dedmon has the best net rating on the team, with the Spurs outscoring their opponents at a rate of 36 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor. The Spurs’ defensive rating of 82.3 when Dedmon is on the floor skyrockets to 108.1 when he’s off. Those numbers obviously have to be taken with a grain of salt at this point in the season, but they do reflect issues many anticipated with the roster. The Spurs starters are not defending well, and the aging duo of Gasol and Tony Parker have been two of the primary culprits. The difference has been the younger second unit headlined by Dedmon and Jonathon Simmons, who have been blowing opposing teams off the court. Dedmon is in three of the Spurs’ six most effective two-man pairings in terms of plus-minus, and Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge are the only starters in any of their top-10 pairings.

https://theringer.co...3d80#.bh8z8ueii

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Shooting splits:

 

Fournier 16 fga/game 3 fta/game 41/32/67 splits. Career 45/39/79

 

as those numbers start to trend toward normal our advanced shooting numbers will improve.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

[/size]https://theringer.co...3d80#.bh8z8ueii

 

yeah, we should have kept him as a third big.

 

though this reminds me of the kyle O'Quinn hoopla early last year.

[fan for too long 2 535]

So far we have lost to 3 teams that are a combined 9-3 and five teams haven't won a game yet. So chill people give rob vogel and the players 20 games to really see what we have.

[Bauncey Chillups 288]

Payton's OPBM is at 2.0 right now which is pretty good and he's not doing anything out there completely unsustainable (his TS% is still below 50 for example). He's had some soft defensive matchups at his position thus far so we'll see how it pans out.

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

It seems strange to see Augustine wearing Jameer's #14, but tt never felt strange to see Harris wearing Duhwight's #12.

[Jay Magic 1,251]

@JoshuaBRobbins A welcome sign for the Magic: Post practice, Jodie Meeks is working on floaters, with changes of direction and light jumping.

 

Meeks can defo help out the shooting bigtime. He is gonna be a nice addition for us

[Franchero MVP 391]

@JoshuaBRobbins A welcome sign for the Magic: Post practice, Jodie Meeks is working on floaters, with changes of direction and light jumping.

 

Meeks can defo help out the shooting bigtime. He is gonna be a nice addition for us

 

Good, now Mario can sit until he learns to not hit the sides of backboards when he shoots.

 

I really hope things start to click for him though. We are in dire need of offense. But he looks overwhelmed by NBA competition at the moment.

[Franchero MVP 391]

Atlanta Hawks look good this year -- I wonder if they have what it takes to give Lebron trouble.

[Ibn Battuta 127]

Atlanta Hawks look good this year -- I wonder if they have what it takes to give Lebron trouble.

 

They do have that one guy who has given Lebron fits before. Can he mature and hit his FTs? They have some depth issues with Tiago Splitter out AGAIN this season but otherwise looking good.

[Jay Magic 1,251]

Anybody wish we got Dwight instead of Bismack? Not saying I do just literally asking the board.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Anybody wish we got Dwight instead of Bismack? Not saying I do just literally asking the board.

 

In a vacuum, absolutely. No because of the awkwardness. Plus it's very likely his contract becomes an albatross. He might be Tyson chandler for the next 6 years or he might continue his decline into the dirt. Plus we have to account for nba players absolutely hating him.

 

So basically if you're asking is Dwight better than biyombo this year. Yes he is. Does that make it worth the Dwight Howard mess. Maybe not