Are you excited for the ‘20-‘21 season?

[ShelC]

I feel like I always see you guys posting! Good to see you're back around and to be fair, there really wasn't too much of an offseason this time!

I'm a little giddy that we're fielding what should be a playoff team this season, but this actually made me lol, especially with the shit McD's been talking on Twitter

[Split T]

So I think we know our roster for this season. We technically have 1 roster spot(with the ability to increase that to 3) and 1 2-way spot. I actually think we might leave that spot open for adding someone mid season if need be.

Paul/Payne/Okobo
Booker/Moore/Carter
Bridges/Johnson/Nader
Crowder/Saric
Ayton/Smith/Jones

My questions that will need to be answered in training camp:

1. Who starts at forward for us? Bridges has 1 spot locked up. The favorites for the other spot are Crowder/Johnson, but I guess Saric could also get it. I’d lean Crowder at this point.

2. How does the backup guard minutes play out? I’d figure we have about 30 backup minutes between 3 guys. Payne, Carter, and Moore. Payne is the most pg like, Moore is probably the most reliable, Carter gets paid the most...if that matters.

3. Is Smith ready for rotation minutes from the jump? Not sure there. I won’t be surprised if Saric gets all the backup 5 minutes to start the season. We have such a short off season, not a lot of time to catch Smith up. Think we might work him in slowly.

[Shabazz]

One thing I'm excited about: for the first time, this team is well positioned to survive if Devin Booker has to miss a few games due to injury. A Paul/Mikal/Cam/Crowder/Ayton starting lineup is just fine, although short on creation. And there are enough quality bench guys to pick up the slack too.

This team really goes to another level if Deandre learned how to create offense for himself over the summer.

[O_Gardino]

I think Cam is going to put a lot of pressure on Bridges / Crowder / Saric. If those guys are playing well, it puts pressure on Smith and Carter, since we can go big or small.

I think we start the season like this:
Paul/Moore/Payne
Book/Moore/Carter
One of Payne and Carter gets in every game depending on matchups.

Bridges/Cam
Crowder/Cam

Ayton/Saric

I think there's a lot of opportunity for Cam to get into the starting lineup or the closing lineup. If he's healthy, he will be good.

Smith will push for minutes as the season goes on, but won't have Monty's trust on day one. With this short of an NBA season, it will be tougher for rookies who need to work on their bodies.

Payne and Carter can certainly take minutes from Moore if they continue to develop, but I think it's just as likely that we see some Bridges at the 2 to make room for Cam and Crowder. Why play Carter when Bridges is right there on the bench? That's up to Bridges, I think.

Payne is a huge x factor for us. He could be absolute garbage, or he could be a dynamic scorer in the second unit.

Crowder is the kind of player coaches have a hard time leaving off the court. But I believe in Cam's shooting and effort. It will be interesting to see how Crowder's minutes go as the season progresses. He could lose the starting job or get down to more like 25 minutes.

Saric is Saric. We may have found his role toward the end of the season last year. He can do a a lot of things on the court for us as long as he's not the focus of the defense. He can be a disruption if the twin Cams are scoring well. Otherwise he will try to do too much and could really hurt us.

Ayton is our other x factor. Can he put up all star numbers?

Nader and Okobo are the only guys who don't have any real hope of earning minutes outside of an injury.

[Indy]

Like Nodack said above, I'm also a lurker in the offseason. I say it all the time, between following persons like David Klein on twitter and peeping the board I always have a good idea about FAs, cap space and that sort of stuff. Some of u guys really enjoy typing out potential scenarios every yr for the draft and FA . I'm more of a wait n see with my own two eyes kinda guy and catching up on the threads I saw a discussion about types of fans, I am definitely one of the glass half full sipping the kool-aid type so yea I am intrigued and looking forward to the season.

My best friend asked me how I felt about CP3 and I told him that going into last season I expected it was just a matter of time before he would have been sulking and demanding a trade from OKC, he really made me eat my words on that so he will continue to do his thing. As others have pointed out the bottom line is it's all about DA, literally every move I'm like you guys - oh CP3 gonna get after DA, oh Smith gonna challenge DA energy in practice, oh good Crowder gonna be on him to man up. It's a lil crazy to still have the focus/energy concerns about him and there's a part of me who thinks he probably was/is offset about Oubre and in typical DA fashion probably told his friends "wow that's crazy how they did Kelly after we started this movement" or something like that smh but we'll see how it goes.

Oh btw, with Covid still being madness all around I'm glad to see most of you guys still around posting. Be safe

Ouch. This has me less enthusiastic about DA than I was already.

It is very true that there are lots of bad signs if we are hoping our only ever #1 pick can grow up and that our #10 pick in a limited high-end talent draft will be a guy to push him into stardom.

[Indy]

So I think we know our roster for this season. We technically have 1 roster spot(with the ability to increase that to 3) and 1 2-way spot. I actually think we might leave that spot open for adding someone mid season if need be.

Paul/Payne/Okobo
Booker/Moore/Carter
Bridges/Johnson/Nader
Crowder/Saric
Ayton/Smith/Jones

My questions that will need to be answered in training camp:

1. Who starts at forward for us? Bridges has 1 spot locked up. The favorites for the other spot are Crowder/Johnson, but I guess Saric could also get it. I’d lean Crowder at this point.

2. How does the backup guard minutes play out? I’d figure we have about 30 backup minutes between 3 guys. Payne, Carter, and Moore. Payne is the most pg like, Moore is probably the most reliable, Carter gets paid the most...if that matters.

3. Is Smith ready for rotation minutes from the jump? Not sure there. I won’t be surprised if Saric gets all the backup 5 minutes to start the season. We have such a short off season, not a lot of time to catch Smith up. Think we might work him in slowly.

I would be really surprised if our day 1 starting line up isn't:

Paul
Book
Mikal
Crowder
Ayton

With Saric our first big off the bench (actually wouldn't be surprised to see Cam and Saric come in together), and Payne our first guard off the bench.

[Superbone]

I feel like I always see you guys posting! Good to see you're back around and to be fair, there really wasn't too much of an offseason this time!

I'm a little giddy that we're fielding what should be a playoff team this season, but this actually made me lol, especially with the shit McD's been talking on Twitter

That was Booker after the game winner in the bubble against the Clippers. That was fun.

[Superbone]

So I think we know our roster for this season. We technically have 1 roster spot(with the ability to increase that to 3) and 1 2-way spot. I actually think we might leave that spot open for adding someone mid season if need be.

Paul/Payne/Okobo
Booker/Moore/Carter
Bridges/Johnson/Nader
Crowder/Saric
Ayton/Smith/Jones

My questions that will need to be answered in training camp:

1. Who starts at forward for us? Bridges has 1 spot locked up. The favorites for the other spot are Crowder/Johnson, but I guess Saric could also get it. I’d lean Crowder at this point.

2. How does the backup guard minutes play out? I’d figure we have about 30 backup minutes between 3 guys. Payne, Carter, and Moore. Payne is the most pg like, Moore is probably the most reliable, Carter gets paid the most...if that matters.

3. Is Smith ready for rotation minutes from the jump? Not sure there. I won’t be surprised if Saric gets all the backup 5 minutes to start the season. We have such a short off season, not a lot of time to catch Smith up. Think we might work him in slowly.

I would be really surprised if our day 1 starting line up isn't:

Paul
Book
Mikal
Crowder
Ayton

With Saric our first big off the bench (actually wouldn't be surprised to see Cam and Saric come in together), and Payne our first guard off the bench.

That's the day one starting lineup I expect too.

[ShelC]

The starting PF spot will be the biggest question mark but I think Monty goes with Cam for spacing and continuity unless he feels like Cam just can't matchup there physically night in and night out. I think Saric solidified his role on the bench as playmaking 4/5. Crowder, Moore and Dario make up a nice veteran group off the bench to put with Payne and Carter, who then wouldn't have to do as much heavy lifting handling the ball and running offense playing with those vets.

I'm optimistic about Smith getting worked into things early on but fortunately not being relied upon to play super heavy minutes or be some sort of savior. I think defensively Monty will want him out there with Dario unless Damian Jones can handle some bench minutes for defense until Smith adjusts to the speed of things. If it's just Dario and Crowder at the 4/5 off the bench we have no rim protection.

I'm a little less concerned about a rookie wall this year because the rooks have had some 6-7 months off to recoup and get ready for the season. The normal schedule of their college season into the tourney and then traveling around for draft workouts/interviews right into draft night right into summer league can have them exhausted by training camp. And Smith at least seems like the kind of young player to have been working out and staying on top of things. The season itself will be a whirlwind but hopefully he can hit the ground running and just focus on his rebounding, shotblocking and hitting the open jumper.

[Indy]

The starting PF spot will be the biggest question mark but I think Monty goes with Cam for spacing and continuity unless he feels like Cam just can't matchup there physically night in and night out. I think Saric solidified his role on the bench as playmaking 4/5. Crowder, Moore and Dario make up a nice veteran group off the bench to put with Payne and Carter, who then wouldn't have to do as much heavy lifting handling the ball and running offense playing with those vets.

I'm optimistic about Smith getting worked into things early on but fortunately not being relied upon to play super heavy minutes or be some sort of savior. I think defensively Monty will want him out there with Dario unless Damian Jones can handle some bench minutes for defense until Smith adjusts to the speed of things. If it's just Dario and Crowder at the 4/5 off the bench we have no rim protection.

I'm a little less concerned about a rookie wall this year because the rooks have had some 6-7 months off to recoup and get ready for the season. The normal schedule of their college season into the tourney and then traveling around for draft workouts/interviews right into draft night right into summer league can have them exhausted by training camp. And Smith at least seems like the kind of young player to have been working out and staying on top of things. The season itself will be a whirlwind but hopefully he can hit the ground running and just focus on his rebounding, shotblocking and hitting the open jumper.

I wouldn't be surprised with Cam starting over Crowder all that much. It is a really good balance to have in the lineup (especially if Mikal and DA are not aggressive).

[INFORMER]

I'm a little less concerned about a rookie wall this year because the rooks have had some 6-7 months off to recoup and get ready for the season. The normal schedule of their college season into the tourney and then traveling around for draft workouts/interviews right into draft night right into summer league can have them exhausted by training camp. And Smith at least seems like the kind of young player to have been working out and staying on top of things. The season itself will be a whirlwind but hopefully he can hit the ground running and just focus on his rebounding, shotblocking and hitting the open jumper.

Interesting. I'm actually more fearful of the rookie wall. Rookies this year are going to have very little preparation for the season. I think it is going to tough for a lot of them.

Some of the polished, gym rats (like Desmond Bane) will do well.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Well it's nice to not need to rely on an incoming rookie to significantly contribute when the roster is healthy.

[Indy]

Well it's nice to not need to rely on an incoming rookie to significantly contribute when the roster is healthy.

And have a team of actual NBA players at least 9 deep. It felt like our over/under on that recently was about 3.5.

[specialsauce]

Well it's nice to not need to rely on an incoming rookie to significantly contribute when the roster is healthy.

And have a team of actual NBA players at least 9 deep. It felt like our over/under on that recently was about 3.5.

This. Which is pathetic that is what brings us happiness now. Took 10 years

[Indy]

Well it's nice to not need to rely on an incoming rookie to significantly contribute when the roster is healthy.

And have a team of actual NBA players at least 9 deep. It felt like our over/under on that recently was about 3.5.

This. Which is pathetic that is what brings us happiness now. Took 10 years

To INF's point about us being so happy with such a low bar. I don't think we realize how low the bar is.

[specialsauce]

Well it's nice to not need to rely on an incoming rookie to significantly contribute when the roster is healthy.

And have a team of actual NBA players at least 9 deep. It felt like our over/under on that recently was about 3.5.

This. Which is pathetic that is what brings us happiness now. Took 10 years

To INF's point about us being so happy with such a low bar. I don't think we realize how low the bar is.

So sad but true lol.

I’m just happy to be in playoff contention again

[Superbone]

Well it's nice to not need to rely on an incoming rookie to significantly contribute when the roster is healthy.

And have a team of actual NBA players at least 9 deep. It felt like our over/under on that recently was about 3.5.

This. Which is pathetic that is what brings us happiness now. Took 10 years

To INF's point about us being so happy with such a low bar. I don't think we realize how low the bar is.

So sad but true lol.

I’m just happy to be in playoff contention again

The picture of Booker in the banner shows how low we had to go to get under the bar.

[Indy]

And have a team of actual NBA players at least 9 deep. It felt like our over/under on that recently was about 3.5.

This. Which is pathetic that is what brings us happiness now. Took 10 years

To INF's point about us being so happy with such a low bar. I don't think we realize how low the bar is.

So sad but true lol.

I’m just happy to be in playoff contention again

The picture of Booker in the banner shows how low we had to go to get under the bar.

[bajanguy008]

Was idle online and decided to twitter search Book and saw these two gems posted recently

Super talented guy hitting 45 straight with no D can be debated if it's a big deal or not but my fav part is Rubio body language. It is just so funny to me as he literally didn't know what to do with himself and I was imagining if I was him waiting to shoot



and then this still is one of my fav games from Book , doesn't even feel like 3yrs ago tbh

[Split T]

Didn’t know exactly where to put this, but was thinking about what improvements I wanted to see from our players this year and see what you guys thought as well. I went through each player and tried to come up with things I want to see and added some stats we could track to see if they were actually achieving it.

Booker - He’s so good already, but the 1 big thing I’d like to see is his 3pt% jump back up to .383(his career high) or higher and for his 2pt% to stay high like last year. Smaller one, but I’d like his turnovers to drop a bit more as well. He can still get turnover prone. I went with under 3.5 a game(3.8 last year), but TO rate might be more appropriate. He was 14.9% last year, I’d like that under 13(Career low is 12.9).

CP3 - Honestly just want to see him stay healthy. I want games missed due to injury < 10. I think we’ll see his assists go back up a bit, that would also be nice.

Ayton - Here’s the big one as he could do so much for us if he made a few specific jumps. I’m not actually that concerned with his points/rebounds as I think he’ll get those regardless. I wanna see that his offensive game is becoming more dynamic and efficient.

My 3 stats to watch are assists, ft attempts, and pt %. He averaged 1.9 assists last year and I think I’d like that more in the 2.5-3 range. He’s got decent vision and more assists would show that he’s taking more initiative on offense. Likewise, getting to the line also shows more initiative and aggressiveness. He averaged 2.3 fta per game last year. That needs to be 4 minimum and preferably 5 or 6.

Lastly, I want that 2pt percentage back up to the .590 he shot as a rookie(.553 last year). He does this by cutting out some mid range and adding more rim attempts. One interesting fact, his percentage in the 3-10 foot range dropped from 56% as a rookie to 41% last year. He takes 20% of his shots from this range, so another big area he can improve. I went strictly with 2pt percentage because I fully expect to see more 3’s this year which will surely bring his overal fg% down.

Bridges - Bring back Scrimmage Bridges! He’s not going to be a heavy usage player in this offense, or probably ever, but I’d like to see him more aggressive on offense at times. He flashed that in the bubble, specifically the bubble scrimmages. His usage rate has been in the 12 range his first two years, I’d like that to push up above 14. Still low, but shows he’s doing more with the ball. He’s a good finisher and smart passer, I think he can be helpful. Also, 3pt%, I want the hitch gone forever and to see the results with > .380 from 3.

Crowder - I think we know what we have with him. He only has 1 full season at higher than .343 from 3(.398 in Boston) I think that and the Miami run are more outliers than anything, but he should have good looks in this offense, so I’ll go 3pt % > .350

Cam - He’s a pure shooter and I want us to take advantage of that. I want his 3pt attempts per 36 to be over 10(let them fly) and for him to shoot over 40% on them.

Saric - Give is Bubble Saric! He can take bench 5’s off the dribble and bully bench 4’s in the post. He increased his ft rate and assist rates in the bubble and that’s what I’ll be looking for. He took 2.7 ft per game in Philly. I don’t think he’ll get the same number of minutes, so give me 2.5(1.9 last year). He also had an assist rate around 14 in philly(10.8 for us). Give me 12.5. Lastly, need a little more bubble shooting than pre bubble. Give me > .370.

Those are the big ones for me. I’ll be quick on the others.

Moore - > 39% from 3(was 37 last year and 43 the previous 2 years)

Galloway - > 39% from 3(39.9 last year)

Carter- > 40% from 3(42 last year, also are we sensing a theme?) Will also add on Carter, I don’t want to see him play a single minute at the 1.

Payne - Tough one here. He’s not going to shoot 50% from 3 like he did in the bubble(career 34% shooter) but he did shoot .385 in a previous season. I’ll be happy if he’s at .370 or higher. Also we need a ball handler and offensive initiator off the bench. I’d like him to match his 3.0 APG in the bubble.

Smith - Not a lot of expectations here, just want him to hit shots when he’s in. Give me .360 or higher from 3. Hoping to be pleasantly surprised with how good he is.

Nader - Want to see less than 10 minutes per game. I don’t expect him to be a part of the rotation unless injuries hit, so give me some garbage time 4 minutes per game from him this year.

Jones - Just want 0 starts from him. If we have to rely on him for anything, we’re in trouble.

Motley - I got nothing here.

Alexander - Same here, just want to hear stories about how he’s impressing in practice. Or if the g league plays, want to see some fun stat lines. Some garbage time 3 pointers and solid D!


Thoughts? What else should we be hoping for from the fellas?