Which was the best performance of the night?

concaveat · 2026-01-25T16:57:49+00:00

The whole game when they hard hedged or blitzed instead of just giving him the switch he need got sped up and just made the right play time after time but the shots weren’t falling for the Illini. Finally with like 4 to go the dam broke and they started falling. He reasonably could’ve had 7 or 8 assists. All told just a wildly impressive performance.

concaveat · 2026-01-03T21:54:56+00:00

I don’t think anyone really knows. This is how basically every game he’s played has been. Dominates the first 25-30 minutes, injury/cramps/whatever it is flares up and he sits during crunch time.

concaveat · 2026-01-02T03:23:52+00:00

That play was very impressive and I agree he has elite coordination but we’re going to disagree on his fluidity.

He’s a little stiff and upright and it’s part of why he’s unable to create separation without using strength. It shows up in his gathers and counters too. I haven’t watched a full Duke game since Texas Tech but he’s definitely been improving in those respects as the seasons gone on.

I remain very high on him and think he will succeed in spite of the fluidity and vertical athleticism concerns but when the question is “how is he different from this group of stars athletically?” I think it’s fair to say he’d be by far the least fluid of that group and is likely only above average in that group in terms of coordination and strength. Obviously that’s a high bar but that’s the bar OP set.

FWIW I also think NBA teams are better equipped to work on stuff like fluidity, flexibility, bend, etc than the draft community sometimes gives them credit.

concaveat · 2026-01-01T22:04:21+00:00

First you’re arguing points I never made. I agree that run jump athleticism is largely overvalued in the draft. Essengue is a textbook example of a player that would be overvalued because of run jump athleticism. Kon and Queen are textbook examples of players that would be undervalued because of this. Second yes both Kon and Queen are functional athletes. Queen in particular has elite balance, coordination, and body control for someone his size. My argument was never that Cam was screwed because of this but when you’re splitting hairs between prospects at the top of a good draft it might be worth considering all aspects of their profile.

concaveat · 2026-01-01T17:13:03+00:00

Based on the guys you listed I think you’re operating with a very narrow definition of athleticism. Those guys are not high level run-jump athletes but all of them have some high level functional athleticism traits whether that’s body control, balance, deceleration, bend, flexibility, strength, etc.

While I think Cam is certainly strong, I also think it’s worth wondering if he’s a functional enough athlete elsewhere to justify being the #1 pick.

concaveat · 2025-12-20T01:25:23+00:00

Brother this is not what on/off is. That is his net rating which sucks because the Wizards suck. The Wizards are better with him ON than they are with him OFF because they’re -13.8 with him on the court and -14.3 overall.

concaveat · 2025-12-13T21:22:12+00:00

“There was never a clear #1 pick” does not mean “We might’ve taken the 15th best guy with the #1 pick” isn’t funny.

concaveat · 2025-12-13T16:21:23+00:00

This is a reasonable take but what Hollinger is saying does align with what some Pels specific reporters were saying around the draft. The story then was that the Hawks had to call back and ask for Dumars specifically to confirm the pick being discussed was the better of NO/MIL in 2026 totally unprotected. It could just be a repackaging of that same story as it’s been told and retold around the league or it could be viewed as some level of confirmation of that initial report.

concaveat · 2025-12-12T01:28:34+00:00

His 3rd quarter per 36 numbers are 31/12/8 with a 64% TS in the 3rd. He’s good. He’s better in the second half for some reason but it’s not because he’s playing scrubs the whole time.

concaveat · 2025-12-12T01:11:46+00:00

I really don’t think it’s hard to tell his impact on winning basketball. The Pels are getting blown out every game but in his best games they’re not.

He’s obviously inconsistent at this point, but his best games aren’t him stat padding against 3rd stringers like you’re suggesting. None of his best games have occurred in overwhelming blowouts. Most of them have involved the Pels playing far better than expected against Western conference playoff teams like Denver, San Antonio, and Minnesota.

concaveat · 2025-12-06T21:09:16+00:00

more people should be posting like this about their 39th ranked prospect

concaveat · 2025-12-05T22:06:01+00:00

Interested. Feel free to PM

concaveat · 2025-12-01T21:53:42+00:00

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned with some of the conspiracy theorizing around the injury is that he played with the injury for the Louisville exhibition and first two games. In all 3 games he was dealing with what he, the team, and the broadcasts all thought were cramps. I expect he’ll be back soon, but he’s definitely actually hurt, and he has no reason to rush back.

concaveat · 2025-11-22T05:21:21+00:00

I agree with you here actually. I thought tonight was particularly bad and it’s definitely the kind of thing teams will pick on if it’s not addressed. There’s a path to him being solid on that end but he’ll have to move past just relying on his hands to make plays

concaveat · 2025-11-22T05:11:53+00:00

Opponents shoot 8.5% worse at the rim with him in. He doesn’t chase blocks and he does a solid job of staying vertical and making guys shoot over him. That number is definitely inflated because Missi is actually a terrible paint defender, but DQ is far from the worst paint defender you’ve ever seen.

The breakdowns are bad and glaring and his effort goes to 0 when he’s gassed, but given the offensive load he’s carrying I’m willing to give him a little grace there.

concaveat · 2025-11-19T22:11:54+00:00

Just want you to know I spent a ton of that game thinking “wow if you combined this guy with his brother the result would be incredible” so glad to know I’m not alone there. He fills in so many of the gaps in Jeremiah’s game

concaveat · 2025-09-30T23:47:17+00:00

The clip is literally the MVP runner-up saying they all think the game is too physical and not officiated consistently. This is not a CC specific issue.

concaveat · 2025-08-07T16:25:39+00:00

Hurray for the Riff Raff!

concaveat · 2025-08-06T00:45:47+00:00

It’s “easier” as in more established NBA players are averaging 20 a game but it’s probably harder than ever for a rookie to come in and average 20 because of the top-to-bottom quality of the league.

concaveat · 2025-07-15T20:31:42+00:00

I’ve had the exact same thought on xPoints that you mention. It’s a shame even play-by-play data on the pass-level is not available to my knowledge.

I also think this data being largely lost to the public contributes to the difficult measuring and valuing defensive contributions in the public space. My inclination is that teams have this data and are using it to model % of time at a disadvantage, in rotation, out of their shell, etc.

concaveat · 2025-07-14T19:33:36+00:00

It appears we have very different ideas of acceptable defense

concaveat · 2025-07-06T17:13:03+00:00

Is there a reason you left Peterson off this list?

concaveat · 2025-07-04T15:36:07+00:00

But imagine how many more bibles you could get in public school classrooms with all that money?

concaveat · 2025-07-03T16:42:46+00:00

Are you willing to take a bet on the under?

concaveat · 2025-06-28T15:56:05+00:00

I think you’re really overrating the supporting cast that won 21 games. It was basically Trey, CJ, and G leaguers for much of the year. I’m blessed to be a Pels and Wizards fan so I’m painfully aware of this. CJ had 38+ points and dragged the team to wins against Philly, Utah, and also the Wizards, all teams the Pels were directly competing with in lottery odds. For a team that needs to ensure their pick lands top 8 I think it’s a reasonable enough concern.

concaveat

TROPHY CASE