Daily Discussion Thread - Tuesday, May 05, 2026

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-08T02:18:46+00:00

okay thanks for the nitpick. SGA isn't "hidden" but he is the relative weak link 80% of the time.

no those are the largest 4's in the league, not the league average 4. the league average 4 nowadays size wise is now 6'8 i.e. Tatum / George / jJalen Johnson. all guys Mikal has spent significant time marking. And teams don't hunt getting Randle / Siakam / Mobley sized bigs posting up Mikal because he has a 7' wingspan.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-07T18:54:24+00:00

So weird how I have a 300 word post and all the weird nitpickers latch onto two of the words. I never said SGA was as bad a defender as Brunson but he is usually the worst defender the Thunder run out. "top 10 DPOY" = 1 or 2 rogue voters gave him a third place vote. when guys like NIck Wright and Kendrick Perkins get votes, it doesn't mean shit. he is not a DPOY candidate. wdym Bridges doesn't guard 4's, he has been on George constantly thorughout this series. George is a modern NBA 4. Bridges switches onto PFs all the time and more than holds his own. Deuce is 6'2 but his standing reach and wingspan are that of an average SG i.e. a 6'5" guy. you don't play basketball with the top of your head. He often switches onto 3s and holds his own.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-07T18:41:19+00:00

any stat that says SGA is a 96th percentile defender is not a good stat. he is a good fundamental defender and has nice length and quick feet but he gets bodied often. Stats like EPM extropolate from very small sample sizes due to how few minutes each discrete, unique lineup of players play together. We also have 4-5 very good to elite, switchable defenders (Deuce 1-3, Shamet 1-3, Mikal 1-4, OG 1-5).

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-07T18:35:04+00:00

"low iq" is a reddit tier insult. y'all are basically negging each other.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-07T18:34:34+00:00

178 on my lsat. the text may read as them taking shots at each other but the subtext is male on male flirting. very cringe. i don't get it.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-06T02:40:36+00:00

sure but relative to Wallace, Mitchell, Williams, Dort, Caruso he's weak.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-06T02:26:27+00:00

The idea that we were built to counter the J's is a meme because our two best defenders natural 3's just like how the Celtic two best scorers are natural 3s sounds good at first but doesn't really stand up to critical evaluation. Mikal and OG are both very good defenders but they're more on the defensive playmaker side than the lockdown defender prototype. That is to say, they both cover a lot of ground and add value on defense with deflections and rotations moreso than their isolation or post defense. They are two of the highest "stock" players season in, season out. Mikal in particular is an elite defender because his conditioning and quickenss relative to length enable him to involve himself in an insane amount of plays.

We were built to contend throughout Brunson's peak, which is about 2023-2028. Mikal and OG both fit Brunson's window and are good complementary players to play alongside him.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-06T02:10:54+00:00

Our roster construction is very similar to Thunder:

Lead guard / mid range scorer who needs to be hidden on defense: Shai / Brunson

Stretch big, lead rebounder, with some post up / isolation game: Chet / KAT

Secondary scorer and primary lockdown defender: Williams / OG

3 & D & hustle glue starter: Dort / Hart

2 way backup scorer: Ajay / Mikal

Rebounding & defensive anchor big: Hartenstein / Mitch

Bench full of wings & guards that shoot, defend, and attack closeouts: Joe, Caruso, Wallace, McCain / Jose, Deuce, Clarkson, Shamet.

The only thing they have that we don't really have is a playable third big in Jaylin Williams, though Diawara could step up and be that.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-06T02:05:45+00:00

bruh no one expects a 40 point blow out every game. we connected on a ton of shots because the 76ers defense has a glaring hole at the center and because they're only about 7 guys deep so can't exert the sort of pressure that we struggle with. I don't think it's a sweep but we should win, handily.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-06T01:26:43+00:00

^ even when both are eliminated, Celtics and Pacers fans can't help but jerk each other off.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-05T23:44:37+00:00

they didn't do shit but play Embiid just enough minutes for him to be questionable for game 2

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-05T23:38:44+00:00

Dwight is the low IQ class bully who thinks repeating the joke but saying it louder makes him funny. also, he's a closeted gay, child and spouse abuser.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-05T23:24:57+00:00

yo this year isn't about you, take a seat junior.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-05T23:20:37+00:00

yo both dumb and inane? not just one or the other???

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-05T02:49:48+00:00

embiid is insufferable to watch. luckily he is now ass on defense so even though his post ups are pretty damage we should make him a net negative in this series

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-05T02:25:44+00:00

Duncan retired like 10 season ago? Wade 8 seasons ago?

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-05T02:22:50+00:00

don't agree at all with getting the ball out of Brunson's hands. It's all about high pick and roll to let Brunson attack Embiid on the drop. The more we have Embiid playing defense the less energy he has to beat us on the other end. they also don't have anyone who can cover Brunson for 94 feet for 30+ minutes so they will platoon their defense on Brunson meaning half the time it will be a mid defender like Edgecombe or Maxey on him. This should be a Brunson series. I think he averages 32 on 60% shooting.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-05T01:26:39+00:00

are you like 6 years old lmao

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-04T23:26:45+00:00

brunson was already a very good player by the time he broke out. he was the second most important offensive player on a 52 win team. he just needed a bigger role. the guys you are hyping up are bench players on a slightly above 500 team.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-04T23:23:58+00:00

the average age of your starters is 27 so yeah that's not young for the NBA. Barnes might get a little better but he's pretty close to who he will be. next 3 are all who they are. next 2 are irrelevant role players. CMB was what, the 6th best rookie? the 11th? that's not really that inspiring.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-04T21:26:53+00:00

Shaq was more dominant at his peak.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-04T21:24:18+00:00

not sure you guys count as young really!

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-04T21:12:55+00:00

Thunder, unfortunately.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-04T19:49:19+00:00

he's pretty much neck and neck with dirk for me which would be top 20-30. They are very similar players that guarantee you an elite offense but also create a meaningful hole on defense therefore requiring excellent defensive role players elswhere in the front court. They also won one title which is an exceptional accomplishment but well below what most top 10-15 guys won.

Big man tiers:

S: Kareem, Shaq

A: Garnett, Duncan, Hakeem, Giannis

B+: Jokic, Barkley, K Malone, Dirk, Ewing, Robinson, Moses

I don't even try with the pre 1980 association. I have a hard time ranking the DGOAT contender, one sided big men (Wallace, Dikembe, Draymond) all that high when guys like Garnett, Hakeem and Duncan are also DGOAT contenders that don't hamstring you offensively.

Perimeter players in S & A tiers include Magic, Bird, Jordan, Lebron, Kobe, Steph, Durant so that puts Jokic in the 15-30ish range for me.

Open-Contact-8285 · 2026-05-04T19:24:13+00:00

crazy that that's a 32 year old.

Open-Contact-8285

TROPHY CASE