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View Full Version : Anonymous NBA Scouts Dish Dirt On Eastern Conference Teams



CaribouJim
10-21-2016, 04:05 PM
http://www.si.com/nba/2016/10/20/nba-scouts-season-preview-eastern-conference

"It is very unfortunate for them that Middleton got hurt. I don't know if he's as good as some of the advance metrics rate him, but he's very good and was trending toward being a borderline All-Star. And what is clear from all the advance metrics, is that the Bucks play terrible when he's not on the floor. Like they are nowhere near a competent NBA team when Khris Middleton is on the bench. ... I liked adding Delly and Teletovic because those are two guys who can make shots and stay out of Giannis' way ... In a lot of ways he’s just a very poor man's Giannis. And when Giannis is your franchise player, uh, that's not a very useful guy to have ... They've got three centers, none of whom is all that good, that they're paying a ton of money to. ... Secretly their best lineup might be something like Giannis, Jabari, and Teletovic at the three, four, and the five. And I don't know exactly who guards the center there, it depends on who they're playing. But Jabari can't shoot threes, and neither can Giannis, and it's really really hard to play in the NBA with more than two guys who can't shoot threes. So, if you're gonna play Giannis and Jabari -- and Jabari's getting pretty good on offense, despite not shooting threes and being a terrible defender, he's getting pretty good on offense—they should probably just play Teletovic as a defacto center. Then mix and match defensively with Giannis, Jabari, and Teletovic. At least have a competent offensive lineup ... They don't really have a two guard for that lineup. Rashad Vaughn's not very good. Jason Terry's a great dude, who can shoot, but he's 40 years old. ... And it's going to be hard for them to play that lineup with Giannis / Jabari / Teletovic because they have, literally, I think $40 million per season, tied up in Greg Monroe, Miles Plumlee, and John Henson. Are you really just going to sit all three of those guys and play your best lineups? ... Thon Maker will be interesting. He plays really hard, he's tall. But he has very little feel for the game, and very poor strength in his core, his glutes and legs. He can kinda shoot if he has time and space, but he can't really make shots at game speed yet. I hope they're not expecting him to play. ... It's hard to figure out how that team makes sense as currently constructed. Jason Kidd's had a lot of influence on their personnel moves, and I don't think that's been a good thing for them ... If you do a good job pushing the ball and getting out and running, you can score in transition. Maybe Giannis will do that, and make up for some of their issues. ... They could be pretty good defensively. Giannis is a monster. ... No, no playoffs. Hard no. … Giannis Anetokuonmpo makes the All-Star game this year. He's going to average like 19 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists. He'll make the All-Star game, and their team's gonna stink."

mufan2003
10-22-2016, 02:09 PM
It has been fun to watch the development of Jabari and Giannis (both still 21). Just in the preseason, it is evident how they continue to get better and better. Both still need work on their perimeter shooting, but otherwise are playing very well. Jabari is displaying more explosiveness and a quicker first step than he had even before the ACL injury.

mufansince72
10-29-2016, 02:17 AM
Pretty much agree with that assessment.

Goose85
10-31-2016, 11:45 AM
http://www.si.com/nba/2016/10/20/nba-scouts-season-preview-eastern-conference

Jason Kidd's had a lot of influence on their personnel moves, and I don't think that's been a good thing for them ...Giannis is a monster. ... No, no playoffs. Hard no. … Giannis Anetokuonmpo makes the All-Star game this year. He's going to average like 19 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists. He'll make the All-Star game, and their team's gonna stink."

I agree with these statements. I think Kidd should concentrate on coaching, stay out of personnel moves, and let a guy like Hammonds do the GM work.
This Bucks team just doesn't fit well together, and there doesn't seem to be much flow either. From what I've seen thus far, this team will be picking in the lottery again this season. They just don't have the pieces that fit well with Giannis and Jabbari. Middleton was one of them, as he could hit the 3.

mufan2003
10-31-2016, 06:00 PM
Nice to see Rashad Vaughn score 22 Saturday night on 6-12 three point shooting. He has not shown much so far, but he is only 20 and in his 2nd season.

Goose85
11-01-2016, 09:50 AM
Nice to see Rashad Vaughn score 22 Saturday night on 6-12 three point shooting. He has not shown much so far, but he is only 20 and in his 2nd season.

This may be the season where Vaughn gets plenty of playing time to help him develop and see what he can do. Hopefully that translates into him being a pretty good outside shooting backup down the road if this team can get the pieces to fit and make a playoff run.

mufan2003
11-01-2016, 02:17 PM
I realize the season just started, but the best thing long-term may be another lottery pick (especially with Middleton out). I read the other day that the 2017 draft class looks like it could be one of the top 2 or 3 drafts in the last 12 years. Focus on player development....Giannis, Parker, Vaughn, Brogdon and Maker.

MKE_GoldenEagleFan
11-01-2016, 09:39 PM
I realize the season just started, but the best thing long-term may be another lottery pick (especially with Middleton out). I read the other day that the 2017 draft class looks like it could be one of the top 2 or 3 drafts in the last 12 years. Focus on player development....Giannis, Parker, Vaughn, Brogdon and Maker.

I agree, however the issue is, even with Middleton out the Bucks will be just good enough to not be in the bottom 5, and most likely not even the bottom 10 in my opinion. I'd be completely okay with them tanking this year to get a top 5 pick and building for 2017-2018 to be the breakout year that we hoped this year would be, but unfortunately I think they will get a late lottery pick somewhere in that 10-13 range where you have to hope you hit on someone.

mufansince72
11-06-2016, 01:14 AM
I agree, however the issue is, even with Middleton out the Bucks will be just good enough to not be in the bottom 5, and most likely not even the bottom 10 in my opinion. I'd be completely okay with them tanking this year to get a top 5 pick and building for 2017-2018 to be the breakout year that we hoped this year would be, but unfortunately I think they will get a late lottery pick somewhere in that 10-13 range where you have to hope you hit on someone.

The East looks pretty bad. Bucks are now 4-2. I think they may end up with the 7th or 8th seed.