Open Thread: Game 7s, Conference Semis (Bonus: Roster Review, Small Forward edition)
2021-06-19Good evening CtB!!!
We have a couple of game sevens coming up, Bucks/Nets and Hawks/Sixers, so come on in and enjoy the spectacle with your CtB family. But in the meantime, some Roster Review Small Forwards edition for your reading pleasure…
Taurean Prince
Taurean Prince came over to the Cavs as part of a contract dump/throw-in with the Jarrett Allen trade. However, Prince really revealed himself to be exactly the type of player the Cavs needed, an athletic “3 and D” wing. Prince instantly became one of the best three point shooters on the team (41.5% 3pt FG percentage on over four attempts per game). He also proved himself to be at least an average playmaker (18.2 assist ratio), moving the ball well enough within the rhythm of the offense. Just as important, Prince brought some much needed defense (0.0 dEPM, 61st percentile in the NBA), displaying good defensive playmaking (1.5% steal rate, 53rd percentile in the NBA, 2.2% block rate, 69th percentile in the NBA).
The two biggest negatives with Prince were his inability to finish at the rim (47% FG percentage at the rim, 4th percentile in the NBA) and an ankle injury that hampered him and cut his season short. His status with the team is obviously up in the air as an expiring contract as well as the possibility that the Cavs draft a wing in the wing-heavy draft. But it would seem to behoove the Cavs to keep him in the fold since playable “3 and D” wings are a precious commodity in today’s NBA, and a veteran presence such as Prince can only help the Cavs if they have any designs on actually trying to win.
Cedi Osman
The oft-maligned Cedi the Jedi had a rollercoaster year himself, suffering through the worst shooting campaign of his career (.488 true shooting percentage). But while he struggled to put the ball in the basket, Cedi at least was able to be a slightly above average playmaker (19.8 assist ratio) and decent decision maker with the ball (11% turnover percentage, 52nd percentile in the NBA). Cedi also flashed some defensive playmaking, with an above average steal rate (1.7%, 68th percentile in the NBA).
Similarly to Isaac Okoro, Cedi has been miscast as a “3 and D” wing when in actuality he’s at his best with the ball in his hands as a point forward/shooting guard archetype. It’s an indictment on the Cavs organization that they’ve tried to turn Cedi into purely a catch and shoot three point specialist when the totality of his tape prior to the NBA showed a guy who needed the ball in his hands to impact the game. With the gaping hole at backup point guard and the general dearth of playmaking on the team, here’s to hoping they carve out more of a on-ball role for Cedi to maximize his impact on the game.
Lamar Stevens
The rookie campaign of Penn State product Lamar Stevens was a tiny, pleasant surprise in a season for the Cavs that wasn’t exactly full of pleasant surprises. Stevens came in as an undrafted free agent, and made an immediate impression with his NBA quality defense. He showed off his athleticism and energy as an above average rebounder both ends of the court (5% offensive rebound rate, 65th percentile in NBA, 17% defensive rebound rate, 64th percentile in the NBA). He also showed better than average defensive playmaking (1.6% steal rate, 62nd percentile in the NBA, 2.3% block rate, 70th percentile in the NBA).
The uphill climb that Stevens will have to stick in the NBA is his poor shooting, especially from three (16% 3pt field goal percentage). He did flash an excellent ability to finish at the rim (69% field goal percentage at the rim, 86th percentile in the NBA). His college stats show that he’s a guy who can get the rim at will as an isolation scorer (.382 career free throw rate, 28.5% career usage rate). But until he shows a consistent jumper, he will always struggle to stick in today’s NBA that is starved for three point shooting wings. One thing that should give Cavs fans hope is that Lamar Stevens is exactly the type of player that the Cavs need to investigate on the margins. One only has to look at Terance Mann for the Los Angeles Clippers as an example of a guy similar to Lamar Stevens that can be mined on the margins of an NBA roster.
Post a new playoff open thread and article on the power forwards… so hop on over if you wish!!
so which “nba” team trades away their gold for a shot at simmons (currently the biggest joke in the nba) for some pro sports immortality ?.. you know who.. kolby is dressing up his ken doll as we speak, dreaming of redemption
LMFAOOOOOOO don’t put that evil on the Cavs!!!!
Can my money always be on the Kings?
CJ McCollum for Simmons makes a lot of sense. Both guys could use a change of scenery.
FWIW, I think GSW would be a fine landing spot for Simmons. With Steph and Klay his lack of shooting would not hurt as much. Though with Dray the fit could be tough. But Shawn Livingston worked well there. Would Philly take Wiggins, though?
The other obvious one would be Toronto in some sort of deal for Lowry.
76ers just seemed a bit overrated to me but still thought they would beat the Hawks. I think Simmons just isn’t a good player and just a random athletic dude who happens to look decent in a wide open league these days. I don’t think he would be anythign special even 10-15 years ago with a slowed down game and better defensive schemes. Credit the Hawks, they came to play and are a very smart team that never panics. Their random white dude going off in a Game 7 haha Bucks vs. Hawks in ECF is a middle market dream… Read more »
LOL! Have we coined a new term here? MIC: Major Irrational Confidence. I like it. It’s funny, usually a player with deficiencies has to be hidden on the defensive end. With Simmons, it’s the opposite. I don’t feel bad for him, have never liked the guy (he’s not popular here in Australia – not as much as he should be), but you can kind of see how this happened. He was very defensive earlier this year when he hit a three & said something like “but hey apparently I can’t shoot”. It was a huge tell – your performance should… Read more »
Along with Simmons, Tobias Harris is godawful too……. there’s non-zero chance Embiid forces his way out of that mess.
I thiught Harris was good most of the series. He kept playing at least. Embiid’s 8 TOs (again) were not helpful either.
No basketball IQ, he defends and can score a little bit, but he’s on a max contract that they’d probably have to pay a pick to get off of.
I agree that Harris is not a #1 guy and max deals for non #1’s are, for me at least, automatically an overpay.
He’d function better as a #2 if he had a PG he could run P&R with. As he is not a fantastic iso guy.
But as a #3? He is perfectly fine. He was over 20 pts in 6 of the 7 games. He had 24/14/4 with 2 steals and 2 TOs in the finale. Harris is not the problem in Philly. Simmons is.
I think he took away touches/shots from the actual second best player Seth Curry and blew the open court layup down the stretch to lose them the game. And I’d also question his effectiveness off ball, since the uptick in Harris’ production this year has mainly been because Doc Rivers put him back on-ball to squeeze out more scoring from him.
I think both of them are a major problem, and I’m loving it personally because screw Philly LMFAOOOO
After that Suns game, can I walk back my comment that Mitchell was the biggest all-nba snub? Booker.
Think Philly regrets not trading Simmons for Harden? I wonder what the market for Simmons is? Four years left on the deal at 33, 35, 37, and 40. Do we want any part of that? He is broken, can he be fixed?
If anyone thinks reclaimation, what do we give up? Love? Does Philly hang up? Love+? I am not a huge Sexton guy, but at least he ain’t scared.
Supposedly PHilly was never an option because of personal beef between Ferititta and Morey. They had alraedy offered Simmons plus picks i believe said the reporting at the time.
He’s a small ball 5…. he can’t operate as a 1 because he doesn’t look to score.
No way they would have to take Love AND give us a pick or two… that contract one of the worst in the NBA at this point…. dude’s a max player that’s unplayable in the playoffs.
Yeah I tend to agree.
The most frustrating thing about Simmons is that he has had five years to work on his shooting, and has gotten worse. I have never seen anything like that dunk he turned down.
Unless he can convince me he WANTS to fix it, OR he develops more aggression (Giannis cannot shoot either), I am a hard pass.
yeah, I think he just plays basketball because he’s tall and athletic and it makes him rich…. not a real hooper!!! LMFAOOOOO
I have seen zero evidence that Simmons has worked on his deficiencies. I think you’re dead on, he likes all the trappings of an NBA ‘star’, but he’s not really a hooper.
i bag on Sexton occasionally, but imagine if he had Simmons’ size – no way he’d be satisfied as an offensive zero afraid to shoot. He’d probably be a top 20 player in the league.
Oh man 100% agree, if Sexton was Simmons size, that’s basically Jayson Tatum LMFAOOOOOOOO
LMFAOOOOOOOO
https://twitter.com/SamSheehanNBA/status/1406754603920678916?s=20
Doc with some choice words for Ben Simmons…
does kolby watch these games ? or does he stay in his room and play with his ken doll ?
Man, this Sixers team is mentally weak.
congrats to ATL.. an organization worth supporting.. enjoy
The Hawks are an incredible story.
simmons for sexton !!!!!!!!
Honestly I wouldn’t do that at this point. Dude is afraid to get fouled and all he can do is go to the bucket.
sarcasm john.. you should know me by now
Ha fair.
Poll: do the Sixers FO blow the team up, or return unchanged?
You gotta dump Simmons.
I’m if Embiid, I’m demanding Simmons get traded or threaten to force his way out
Doc and Simmons should be out of there…. Harris too IMO
and the sixers lose at home to boot..
my misanthropic self is beside myself.. it doesn’t get better than this..
TOs tell the story.
So against bucks, we in for a vomit inducing amount of step backs and wild flailing to try to draw fouls from three from a vomit inducing player in Young. Cool should be real fun to watch. People actually like this? Really?
trae and huerter >>>>>>>>>>> curry and klay
Klay didn’t play this year…and GS is in the west. Talk about hot takes lol.
Also Capella, Collins, and everyone else >>>>>>>> than the g league team around curry this year.
exactly Klay can’t even play and Steph can’t even get into the playoffs.
If he had Trae’s cast in the east he sure would.
if wishes were horses, beggars might ride LMFAOOOOO
And context is everything.
not really LMFAOOO
Lol this is hilarious. Context doesn’t matter eh? That’s the most absurd thing I’ve heard in awhile.
What truth? Sorry. Not impressed. Philly is a mess. Young was pretty god awful in game 7. Huerter is a nice piece.
you said it is “everything”… I’m saying no it’s not.
read carefully next time LMFAOOOO
Sigh semantics response to a common phrase. Context matters in the vast majority of cases. I don’t see or evaluate the vast majority of arguments or evidence without context. I would just be blinding myself to reality if I did.
Good job atl. Philly was a pretty weak one seed. In reality both the nets and bucks were/probably are better. If the hawks beat the bucks and Young is the best player in the series I will give real credit.
no, my response was a joke you’re unwilling to take!!! LMFAOOO
I agree the nets and bucks were better, but Philly absolutely had a roster to get to the Finals, Trae and Huerter are just rising to the occasion… they just won a game 7 on the road against the one seed with an MVP caliber player. They made history tonight.
You and I may have very different definitions of what actually qualifies as a joke or humor, lol. Also I would not say 5/23, 10 assists to 6 tovs as rising to the occasion, but to each their own. Huerter sure.
Trae made plays for his teammates and hit one of the biggest shots in the game
and he was +7 in a 7 point game… Trae haters down bad!!! LMFAOOOOOO
Philly was the #1 seed and had a top 5 MVP candidate… sounds more like people just don’t wanna give credit where credit is due!!! LMFAOOOOO
On context: Ben Simmons shot 100% from the field in the 4th quarter in the last series. What a player!
Looooolllll what is this blasphemy
i see there are now two who are afraid of the truth.
shake milton 2018: Rd 2, Pk 54 (DAL).. perfect.. bench the tall sot
huerter is a very cool cat..
Stuuuupid foul.
Doc Rivers team making too many mental mistakes
Never contest behind the head on A shooter
Boy you can’t touch perimeter players
windler is a huerter pretender
oh my.. tears of embiid on the horizon !! perfect..
Boy they should have traded simmons
I would just let young from 30 feet.
Well eventually you going to make a three if you take 20 in a game.
I wonder if Hawks will go Hack-a-Ben here
Doc will sit him I reckon
Hmm, well here we go
Huerter absolutely carrying them. Simmons passes up an open dunk. Yeesh
Crowd is booing him down the stretch in a one point game in game 7 LMFAOOOOOOOOOOo
Aw c’mon guys, he’s a “pass first” kinda guy. As in “No, I’ll pass, but thanks”. 😂
So many step back threes….so many bricks
i kinda like seth curry.. he has moxy, and big balls to put himself out on the hardwood given who his brother is.. no costanza shrinkage with this bro
this game deserves overtime
simmons is a disgrace.. how can you be 6’11”, play for 30m and only score 4 pts !!! thank goodness kolby didn’t have the opportunity to draft this turkey..
Hasn’t improved his game at all.
Seth Curry is honestly Philly’s 2nd most important player
Harris and Simmons been meh
If atl wins this game it’s because of Huerter.
So. Many. Bricks.
Heurter’s court movement is smart. Finds space without speed, and therefore finds the open man.
God I hate young as a player.
Both teams constipated. Feel like Philly will take their medicine first.
Collins plays tiny.
I’m just tuning in.
this a slugfest, Sixers a mirror image of the Bucks LMFAOOOo
Gallinari just embarrassed Philly D. PML.
Heurter is hurtin’ ‘em!!!
Huerter best hawk
How many ffing bricked step backs I gotta watch this game? God I hate the three point math. What a displeasing offense.
Trae Young is the new hammer time. Can’t touch this. Literally.
Also aesthetically basically a smaller harden.
I hate how Harden and Young are called “crafty” for drawing these BS fouls
That and the boiling down of NBA offense entirely to three point math. If the perimeter could be defended more physically that would go away.
Bogie moving well – great to see
Rooting for the Hawks. Things I never thought I’d say.
same,, but my brain says Sixers take this easily.
Ditto but these playoffs have confounded so far. Which is awesome!
Absolutely, GO HAWKS!!!
I dislike Trae young and all small guards now. No more perimeter step back softness and no contact on perimeter. Done with tissue paper officiating on the perimeter and for perimeter players.
it appears that everyone touched by the cavs (excepting bron of course) gets their G-spot permanently over-stimulated (by what we can only surmise), which leads to a manifestation of chronic G-league wanna-be-itis at all levels of the structure.. this in turn, causes the phenomenon known as white bowl inner circling (WBIC), which, currently, is not treatable..
meanwhile, ex-cav champion james jones wins executive of the year.. it is a given that kolby numnuts prepster believes the honor was stolen from him, i mean look at the growth in the franchise since his annunciation..
Cam Payne and JFJ.
Good for them.
excellent.. go PHX.. kolby numnuts middlebury hoops jeenyus likely in total denial about what a pathetic incompetent he is.. cavsdan got any more cracker jack brilliants in the back room ?
LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO let’s hope so!!!
CAM PAYNE
Wore my CtB 2016 Championship t-shirt all day today. Good memories.
Today’s game was a fitting tribute to this special anniversary.
DASPEC!!!!!!
My championship cap has been dusted off and worn with pride!
Epic game. Can’t believe the Bucks pulled it off
In spite of Lopez brainfades.
And sayonara to the most unlikable team in NBA history. I will brook no argument on this point.
Idk. Clips may have them.
Agreed, F*** the Clips
Lol I hated Durant on the 73-9 Dubs more…
Harden, Kyrie, and Blake trump everything.
They’re way up there. Two FA superteam signings going to one of the biggest markets in sports plus a guy that totally bailed on his team and pouted to force a trade on top of having one of the most aesthetically dislikable games in the history of the NBA. Hallelujah. Nets are gross.
harden didn’t help his prestige..
Wow that’s how this game is gonna end…. incredible
JC, this game too it out of me…grats to the Bucks, who played through a lot here…
too bad irving went down.. not that i am a big fan, but he is a talent.. giannis deserves a chance to advance.. this would have been over several games ago with kyrie
Irving is a talent when he has stars around him. He could never do what curry, or Westbrook, or harden, or Lillard and basically take a team to the 8th seed by himself. Good second fiddle but not franchise guard. Never will be. Just not that leader, or defender, or playmaker. Just a scorer who is efficient for a guard but not on those other guys levels. Rag on Westbrook, but he has had seasons better than Kyrie ever will with less support.
Or have a winning regular season impact like cp3 has had thru his career.
Kyrie’s got that clutch gene though… can do things in crunch time that guys like Westbrook and Harden or even Curry haven’t shown they consistently can do
Fair, but he needs someone else to get him to the playoffs or crunch time for that matter.