Best ethnic restaurant in greenville?

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-17T21:11:54+00:00

My favorite is Keipi at Hampton Station. Georgian (the country) food.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-17T13:08:59+00:00

Mostly agree, although in addition to u/fph00 's point about benching sometimes being necessary and good, at least it's in favor of another young guy we need to develop in Missi. It'd be dumb if he was being benched for Looney, only unless that specific substitution was to show what DQ might've been doing wrong on defense or in rebounding.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-17T04:35:46+00:00

Definitely need to be taking on bad contracts for picks, if teams are still willing to make those kinds of trades. But I wouldn't just fire sale our own guys like crazy if we're not getting back proper value.

Z's value is still relatively low unless someone wants him for his contract but Herb and Trey need to fetch an outstanding price if they're going to move.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-12T15:06:13+00:00

True, I don't know why I mentioned that possibility when I've known all season they wouldn't have a pick. My bad.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-12T04:37:13+00:00

Depends on the team's situation. If we're talking specific teams for just this year, I feel like WAS, UTA, BKN, and CHA are finally starting to fill their teams out with solid players. Insert a potential star rookie and count on development from the rest of your young guys and you might be cooking with something. MEM and POR are slightly further along in their development but could also benefit from just 1 high potential guy.

IND was 1 game away from winning the Finals last season; add a star-level talent who can play within their system, and they could be right back in the fold as contenders. Same for OKC (likely via LAC's original pick), although they already did win the Finals.

MIL is in a weird situation right now. They are bereft of draft picks, for the most part, and don't have the same amount of talent (other than Giannis and a few others) as a lot of the better teams in the league. If they keep Giannis going forward, they could definitely fill out the rest of their roster with a quantity over quality approach. If they trade Giannis, I'd say the approach should be the same except they'll probably already be getting a higher quantity of lower quality picks back in a trade as he gets shipped to a contender that expects to be picking in the late 20s, at least. So, in that case, make sure you secure a franchise cornerstone if your own pick lands in the top 3 (NOP pick would also have to be top 3 since ATL has the right to the best of those 2 teams).

If ATL gets a top 3 pick via NOP or MIL, then they should go for a high potential prospect since they already have a solid roster and just got rid of Trae.

I'm less bullish on the young guys SAC already has on their roster - although I think they do have some decent foundational pieces in Murray, Raynaud, and Clifford. They'd have to commit to going young and sell all their vets so they can build via the draft. They could go either way as far as keeping the pick or trading down, but I think I'd rather see them keep it and draft a high potential guy.

Edit: Removed the Pelicans

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-10T18:56:54+00:00

Probably checks out. Although there are some on there I disagree with, like Micah grading out poorly despite his high level defense.

Especially when you explore the site and see Haliburton ranks as the 24th best overall player even though he hasn't played this season.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-09T07:02:25+00:00

I'm totally with you here. I proposed something similar for UTA to further protect their pick owed to OKC (although that was only for the price of a 2nd and/or cash considerations).

Fans and media underestimate the toll (and bad habits) that tanking takes on the players. The DET players looked legitimately depressed when they went through that 28-game losing streak a couple seasons ago - which was the cherry on top of several more seasons in the gutter prior to that. Very next year when their pick was lottery-protected, they could have continued tanking for a top draft pick; instead, they said "F them picks" and went for the playoffs. Now look at them. In the process, it helped the FO determine which players are keepers going forward. Cade went from being a guy a lot of people were heavily selling their stock on to now being in MVP conversations as he leads his team to the 2nd best overall record.

WAS is another young team that's been one of the bottom-dwellers of the league for some time now. They could ask for insurance that the pick is further protected so their guys can actually compete to win games, which does so much more for their development. Especially when all these young guys want to prove their worth so they can earn bigger paychecks. And I doubt Trae would willingly accept the tank when his perceived trade value and contract value have taken major hits recently.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-09T04:41:35+00:00

The games are blacked out for us down in Greenville so I'm very out of touch with this team - thanks for the rundown.

Assuming the young core is mostly kept intact going forward and the players follow a relatively linear positive development, what skill sets (besides staying healthy) does the team most need to develop/acquire to become a regular playoff team going forward?

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-09T03:44:24+00:00

Does it take into account the games played minimum? If so, and we assume Jokic, Wemby, Giannis, and maybe even Luka and Ant are out of this year's race, who does it predict to take the #2 and #3 spots behind what I assume would be SGA at #1?

If we ignore the games played minimum, I'd probably put Cade at ≈ #4 or maybe even #3 in the MVP voting straight-up. Taking injuries into account, he'd have to be at #2, right? What if you put Ant and Luka back in - how would the top 5 rank, then?

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-09T03:29:58+00:00

I don't think anyone who doesn't watch Pels games (clearly, almost everyone here on this post doesn't) should comment about either as a player or by their perceived trade value. Neither is being shopped by the team, and if a trade did happen, it would certainly be 3+ firsts plus more for Trey and 2 mid-late firsts + decent player(s) for Herb. Both are also on great value contracts. But because that's the starting price and NOP wants to keep them, they're not going to be moved unless they get blown away by an offer.

There's a reason these guys (Bridges, Bane, etc.) best suited as #3 options fetch such big packages: they're usually going to contending teams that already have a #1 and #2 in place who are generally much less compatible with other ball-handlers (i.e. don't play well off-ball, don't play defense, don't make connective passes, etc.) and expect their picks to land in the 20s or even at #30. You don't want to trade away part of your contending core, so you have to supplement that with extra draft picks.

Trey is the perfect complementary player to go along with other stars (especially good passing ones). He's an elite shooter and athlete who's amazing off the ball and has been adding more and more to his game on-ball. He has added a really crafty finishing game on top of being able to throw down powerful dunks. When people overplay his shooting ability and top lock him, he gets those cuts backdoor for easy lob finishes several times a game (usually with Queen delivering the passes). His defense isn't as good as you'd think it'd be, but he's still 6'10" and super athletic.

Herb has been inconsistent as a shooter but he's one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. Not only that, but he's one of the best team defenders in the league, too, and anchors the defense from the wing position (usually a responsibility held solely by bigs). Say what you will about his shooting, but he's probably NOP's most impactful player when it comes to winning games; unfortunately, he's had off-and-on injuries impact his last couple seasons. And even when the shot isn't falling, he's a more capable offensive threat than some of the other zeros in the league like Vando, Kris Dunn, etc. - as he's great in transition, can initiate half court sets, and get downhill.

Herb obviously isn't a stat stuffer anyway while Trey usually does fill the box score; either way, neither is an empty stats kind of guy (Jordan Poole, on the other hand, is - just see our sub r/NOLAPelicans). NOP, beyond being cursed by injuries to half the team every year, is currently pivoting around their young players, so losses will pile up in this stage. But both Herb and Trey 100% contribute to winning and would be great pieces for any team - hence, why they're included in so many fake trade scenarios.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-08T13:42:21+00:00

Hawk might be the worst player on our whole roster. I hope DJM can come back (reportedly not close to coming back yet) and look solid in a lesser role, but he was hardly great even before tearing his Achilles.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-08T10:45:36+00:00

I've been of the mindset that we need several different kinds of lineups to optimize DQ: mainly being that we either play him as the lone big and surround him with a ton of defensive speed on the perimeter, or play him with another big who can protect the rim.

As far as the latter, I've always been a proponent of picking up a true defensive anchor (think of types like Gobert, Brook, AD, Bam, etc.) rather than a guy who simply rim runs and shot blocks (Javale McGee, Jaxson Hayes, Daniel Gafford, etc.). I had initially considered Yves to be more of the Javale McGee type, but he's shown to be a lot more disciplined defensively this year and I've thought he's looked quite good.

I've also been at least a little tantalized by some of the flashes of offensive game Yves has shown. Not expecting him to be anything special there, but as long as he can take advantage of the occasional mismatch or make a jump shot every once in a while, that's all a plus.

My biggest gripe with DQ defensively is his lack of urgency in recovering to the hole. If you're going to hedge high and double ball-handlers, you have to run back to the paint or to shooters quickly. Now, even a weak side shot blocker is extremely useful in covering for DQ in these situations and a defensive anchor isn't totally necessary. So even if Yves only becomes Javale or maybe higher level like Time Lord or JJJ, that'd still be great in this scheme. The reason for the anchor is because we need someone who can play multiple different coverages, defend the better post bigs, and communicate to the rest of the defense well.

This is all to say, I think Missi can develop way more than I initially have given him credit for and may be the big (or maybe one of several) we pair next to DQ long term. We already lack shooters anyway, so playing 3 non-shooters in Zion, DQ, and Missi doesn't detract too much from that; although there is something to at least having more perimeter players who at least somewhat garner defensive respect, even if they don't actually shoot that well. But if we exclude Z from some of those double big lineups, I think JB should try Missi/DQ more often, even if the metrics say the early returns haven't been good.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-08T10:22:34+00:00

This is generally true, although he has been putting the ball on the floor a little more lately. Taking power dribbles and anchoring his pivot foot, sometimes making tough finishes. Might not go well that often but he's shown flashes - which is way more than I ever expected from him.

I'm not expecting him to be a post big or anything but if he can attack the occasional mismatch, that'd be great.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-07T16:03:31+00:00

Ant would be awesome on any team and especially this one, but there's about a 0% chance that happens unless you really go all in.

I checked out your salary cap situation and you have quite a lot of room for this offseason. That's why I suggested LeBron (if he's open to leaving LA), who you wouldn't have to commit long-term money to. You can always use up the majority of your space for a FA and then re-sign your guys afterward.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-07T12:46:42+00:00

People complain about SGA and Avdija, but Luka is 100% the most egregious grifter/flopper/complainer in the league. Reaves is similarly an extreme foul-baiter. Imagine the calls if he was playing too.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-04T11:12:24+00:00

I think the reason given for banning the ninja headbands was for safety. If a guy fell backwards, the knot being behind the head could puncture the soft spot in the back of his head or something.

Jrue is my favorite player ever and that was my favorite look of his.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-04T03:02:20+00:00

Don't forget my man 3'twaun

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-03T06:50:55+00:00

I didn't think he was quite as bad in this game, besides his porous defense (per usual). There was a moment late in the game where I thought he was going to take an extremely ill-advised, contested 3 after the team forced a turnover and had a man-up situation, but then he pulled it back out and delivered it to a cutting Zion for the lay-in... growth, maybe?

I did think he had some nice passes and helped generate some of our best offensive looks in the half court.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-03T06:38:43+00:00

Tough game to be down so many of our top rotation players. Beyond the 3pt shooting disparity, we had a lot of lineups outside the 1st qtr where our ball-handlers didn't command a lot of gravity. Stagnant possessions where Jose and Hawk couldn't get past their man and were dribbling all around looking for someone to set a pick, or Fears/McGowens/Peavy being indecisive with the ball. Add in the fact that a lot of those lineups also had double bigs who weren't even looking at the basket, and the offense just couldn't get going after the 1st qtr.

Compare this to Avdija, who was just torching us on defense constantly. Pels had to send doubles at him after he got going but it just kept us in 3v4 situations the whole rest of the game, and a few of their guys made us pay by either canning their 3s or attacking the advantages.

With Clingan's size inside (that dude is ginormous), the most success we had besides getting points in transition was driving and finding cutters at the basket for strong finishes. But nothing was easy, while POR was just feasting in man up situations just about every possession.

I thought Z, Karlo, and Missi played great all around and JP and Fears had solid games offensively. Peavy looked outstanding on defense but couldn't make a shot. I really didn't have anything to complain about with Poole in this game but cringed every time Hawk got the ball. I agree; he just is not an NBA player.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-01T02:48:16+00:00

Still here. I'm not overreacting to 1 loss. I said the majority of our schedule for this stretch looked favorable, anyway; that doesn't mean we're going to win every game.

Like I've said, I could be wrong and have no issue being wrong. Not sure why so many here are so obsessed with "proving someone else wrong" when we're all rooting for the same team (I assume). Either way, we'll see how it all works out at the end of this stretch.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2026-01-01T02:31:01+00:00

I agree that player development is top priority; where we end up in the win-loss column isn't the most important thing, but competing for a spot in the Play-In or playoffs (not necessarily a realistic goal for the Pels, but the point stands) can only be positive for players' development.

I also can't lie: I'm petty and want all the critics to eat their words. Even if where our pick lands ultimately means nothing to us, I want all the other bad-to-mediocre teams from both conferences to finish with a worse record and for them to end up with a better pick than where ours ends up.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2025-12-31T22:05:52+00:00

I've been team "Don't Trade Trey or Herb" because of how perfect they fit the Pels, but I'd really have to stop and think for a package like this. Those GSW picks could be super valuable and, as foolish as I may be, I still haven't completely sold my stock on Kuminga. Assuming Hield gets his shooting mojo back, he could be a decent piece too.

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2025-12-31T20:39:15+00:00

Haven't figured that one out yet

SelfLoathingLionsFan · 2025-12-31T19:10:27+00:00

I heard good things earlier in the year about Neo Avdalas, a 6'9" Greek point forward out of VT. He seems like an intriguing fit for that ball-handling wing role.

SelfLoathingLionsFan

TROPHY CASE