PaulieG’s NBA Index

Hoops junkie, data obsessed. “A wealthy industrialist, philanthropist, and um… bicyclist.”

[NBA da bad @NBAdabad]

Karl-Anthony Towns com uma das entrevistas mais emocionantes da NBA nos últimos anos:

"Shaq, você vai entender o que eu vou falar.

Eu senti uma calma e uma paz [antes do jogo] que só pode ter vindo daquela mulher [minha mãe] lá em cima.

Me senti confiante, me senti bem. Me senti uma criança me divertindo. É o tipo de sensação que você sonha em ter quando é mais novo.

O sonho é ser um jogador da NBA, quem dirá jogar nas Finais.

O dia inteiro, foi um sentimento estranho. Me sentia uma criança indo jogar aqueles torneios amadores.

De certa forma, parece que eu vi minha mãe na arquibancada. Foi divertido, me deu conforto.

Falam que tem muita pressão no Jogo 1 das Finais, mas sei lá, eu senti uma presença. Algo que me dava conforto e amor. Eu senti que podia me divertir no Jogo 1 das Finais."

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@IanBegley @FredKatz @ChrisBHaynes @NBA_NewYork Credit to Scott Foster for getting in the way of this & keeping it from escalating. And to Brunson for keeping his cool.

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

If Wemby could just perfect a hook shot…

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@Abe_OGBullsFan Bench. PF.

The Matas Plan. Not the PWill Plan.

[Fran Fraschilla @franfraschilla]

Best way for me to evaluate a guard at any level is to watch them in Pick &Roll situations. Why?

1. I look to see if they have a “solution” for each coverage.
(They’ll see roughly 8 coverages in the NBA, 4 in college and 3 in high school.) @SteveNash

2. I look to see if they have the passing vision and basketball IQ to destroy the tag help. Can they make the cross-court corner pass like @Hali did in college?

3. Do they have the size, speed and quickness to handle traps?

4. Do they have the ball skills and agility to back up out of traps with the dribble? (Thank you, Bob Hurley)

5. Can they keep the defense guessing until the last possible moment to make a decision. @CP3 @Huertas09

6. Can they score behind the screen, can I shoot the floater vs. “drop” coverage and can they finish at the rim?

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@timeburns1

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

OKC will be back & better than ever next season. Healthy JDub totally changes everything.

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@ReyAlmighty @AyoDosTres

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@j_wolfe26 Brother, I’m not arguing they knew they’d be bad. We agree on that. I’m just saying there is a difference between rebuilding and tanking. That’s all. I suppose we have to agree to disagree. But I respect & understand your points.

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

As its 3rd best player, geek. Sit this one out, homie. Just keep rooting for losses.

[mark @mkhoops2]

Good thing OKC tanked despicably and won a goddamn title with Holmgren.

What is wrong with you anti-tanking dolts?

😂

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@j_wolfe26 Eh, that’s too far, Don’t you think? I mean, you can be bad, expect to be bad, but still try to win games, right?

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@j_wolfe26 100% playing scrubs heavy minutes. My point was they didn’t have any other vets on the team. All their good players had been traded away. Know what I mean?

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@j_wolfe26 No, I know that. Who else would they have played at those positions?

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@J_Talks_Hoops I would love to do this. Having a toddler at the moment prevents me from committing to anything cuz I sometimes cant watch live. My apologies. Hopefully next year.

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

I’m with you on this, Rey. Though I disagree on “Relying on High Draft Picks” is a “plan in place.” But regardless, I think you brought up the key point - business. Fans may understand the “business” of having to suck for a while and build back up. However, I don’t think fans understand the “business” effect of 1/4 of a 30 team league intentionally losing games.

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

No. I think they made those moves for a variety of reasons. They weren’t gonna re-sign those guys & didn’t wanna lose them for nothing. They also knew they would be bad after losing them, increasing their odds of getting Wemby.

Here’s my point though. Not every Now for Later move is Tanking. An honest rebuild is different than purposely losing games. They tried to win each game they played, but didn’t have the talent to win many. They weren’t sitting healthy players, resting their vets, playing scrubs heavy minutes, etc. which is what Philly, OKC, WAS, UTA, SAC, ORL, HOU and others have done over the last 10 years.

What those teams did is directly resulting in the need for Silver to create the new draft lottery rules. It was hurting the business & it needed to be stopped.

It’s one thing when a team sucks & is likely gonna lose tonight’s game. It’s quite another when a team could be average, but is intentionally planning on losing tonight’s game.

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

Happy for ya!

[Alejandro D. @SoyAlejandroD]

🚨 Announcement:

I am launching my solo project in Chicago Bulls Times (@Chi_Bulls_Times)! I will starting the podcast soon and will have my writing as well.

I’m excited for what comes next!

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

Yep, we on the same page.

The Pro-Tank argument shows that what OKC did was ultimately worth it, simply because A) they weren’t in contention, as you said, so tank & gather young talent, and B) it proved successful ultimately cuz they won a ch’ip.

For me, it remains difficult to swallow simply cuz of the manner they did it. I mean, they were HISTORICALLY bad for those 2 years. Resting a healthy SGA for half the season, telling Al Horford just to stay home, playing Poku heavy minutes, etc. How many fans did it piss off? How many times were they blown out at home? How many times did the opponent’s fans not bother watching cuz they knew OKC wasn’t even trying? All to end up with Chet & Caruso.

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@nathanlukeylu I hear ya. I don’t even necessarily disagree. I’m just saying there is an awful lot of “If” and “Maybe” there. And Chet ended up missing his entire rookie season, and much of his 2nd year too. It turned out well for them. But it easily could’ve gone the other way.

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

Good thing OKC tanked despicably and threw away an entire season for Holmgren.

[Evan Sidery @esidery]

Chet Holmgren’s five-year, $239.3 million extension kicks in this summer for the Thunder:

2026-27: $41.3 million
2027-28: $44.6 million
2028-29: $47.9 million
2029-30: $51.2 million
2030-31: $54.5 million

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@AyoDosTres I’m not disagreeing. You’re right. Tanking is exactly how they got Chet & AC. I’m just proposing the question:

Is throwing away an entire season to wind up with Chet Holmgren worth it?

On that note, is throwing away an entire season to end up with Alex Caruso worth it?

[PaulieG’s NBA Index @TheNBAIndex]

@j_wolfe26 Nope. They traded Dejounte & White the previous offseason. Then traded Poeltl mid season. 3 of their 5 starters. They just didn’t have much talent that year.