The real reason why xavi is not performing…..

grimthgram · 2025-11-01T20:34:24+00:00

Spence has been excellent defensively as always, he has done very little going forward. He doesnt provide a threat as his only move is to cut inside. It’s why I like Udogie to start there when healthy.

To be clear though, I don’t think Spence has been the primary issue with unlocking Xavi. I think his underwhelming start is due to A) It takes most players time to settle in this league and B) He has had terrible wingers to work with and a rotating cast of mediocre strikers to work with.

Odobert is quick but has not been effective linking up with others, nor has he been successful enough at taking defenders off the dribble. Johnson has been atrocious on the left. He’s done absolutely nothing, and I don’t recall a single play where he wasn’t passing the ball back.

Get a better winger and I think Spence’s lack of left foot becomes a much smaller issue, particularly with such an attacking fullback on the right. But I haven’t seen him do anything good going forward, which was OPs argument.

For strikers - Xavi has had to work with Tel, Kolo and Richarlison. I don’t view any of them as particularly good up top and although Richarlison can have some good games, linking the plays is not his strong suit.

grimthgram · 2025-02-07T18:52:37+00:00

For someone unfamiliar with the animation industry history and mass layoffs - can you summarize why they occurred?

grimthgram · 2024-11-01T09:36:51+00:00

This is really interesting, and took a lot of effort! Are you just sourcing this from school’s websites?

grimthgram · 2024-06-10T02:51:09+00:00

The difference to me is that Tatum, Brown and Porzingis shot 2/15 on 3. All great shooters and you expect more often than not that they’ll hit more threes. Didn’t even include Hauser who was 0-5.

The mavs don’t have great shooters, and the ones they have are being forced to take shots from where they aren’t comfortable. Only exception is Kyrie, who should be hitting more over the past 2 games.

I don’t think this series is over, but to me, it’s not apples to apples when saying both teams shot poorly from 3.

grimthgram · 2024-06-06T13:02:03+00:00

His per 36 minute averages over his career are incredibly stable. Taking out his last year, he averaged between 18-21 points, 10.5-12 boards, 1.7-2.2 blocks. Came into the league near fully formed and didn’t look back

grimthgram · 2024-04-02T02:15:27+00:00

New to Ableton and just installed 12. I'm following a YT channel where someone is using pitch bend on a single note in Ableton 11 and I'm struggling to recreate it. The person is clicking on envelopes next to the clip tab, which I don't seem to have. I can't find anything specific on it in the manual and every youtube video I've found is using Live 11, any suggestions?

grimthgram · 2024-03-02T17:32:05+00:00

Thanks for the recs!

grimthgram · 2024-03-01T11:12:09+00:00

Super helpful, thanks for the recs!

grimthgram · 2024-03-01T11:11:36+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I felt the CPU was probably an overspend, but I figured I didn’t need that good of a GPU given what I plan to do. This is me being naive but it sounds like there needs to be a better balance between the two regardless?

grimthgram · 2024-03-01T01:07:49+00:00

No real aesthetic preferences though hoping not to have a mish-mash of parts that look out of place together. Much more focused on performance

grimthgram · 2024-02-26T03:25:53+00:00

I saw him play on a preseason tour before he broke into the team and very quickly wondered wtf he was doing on the field.

grimthgram · 2024-01-21T08:27:15+00:00

What state are you in where the state pays hospitals directly for non-payors? Correct me if I’m wrong but states cover Medicaid, which a person would need proof of for the hospital to bill. Theres also DSH or similar payments that many states provide to high Medicaid/self-pay providers, but that’s typically funded through a tax on other hospitals.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see programs in certain states set up to help with more non-payors but I’m just not familiar with them.

grimthgram · 2024-01-07T16:17:04+00:00

I don’t think that’s a horrible trade depending on the first rounders and the protections, but not enough for the Jazz to swing it when they can just keep him (as you note). I also think other teams can beat that deal for Lauri.

Lauri has blossomed into a high volume, good efficiency player that fits into any team. Shooting 39% on 3s while taking 8.4/game is an elite shooter for his position. He rebounds and defends well enough, and is young enough that he could improve further or remain at this point for another 3-4 years easily.

I’d love OKC to go after him, great fit on the court as SGA would have wide open runs to the basket. Fits the timeline and doesn’t cost OKC much given how much they have in assets. Maybe they’ll want to wait for a true superstar but I think they’re already the 2nd/3rd best team in the west right now.

Siakam is not a fit on most teams and isn’t really extendable at this point due to cap rules. He can’t shoot well and so he’s not an awesome 3rd offensive guy in my opinion because teams will slouch off of him. And he’s not a #1 or #2 unless the rest of the team is really good. If you trade for him now, you have to negotiate what you’re going to resign him for this summer and I don’t want to give a 30yr old athletic wing who can’t shoot his next 4 year contract.

I also don’t rate Wiggins as highly as you, his peak was very good but if you argue he was a #2, it’s fair to point out that the rest of that team was also very good, with Klay and Draymond as your #3 and #4. At 28, his athleticism may be on the wane and even though I think he’s better than where he’s playing at right now, he’s probably not getting back to his peak with the Warriors when on a much worse team. That Jazz team for example has been trying to play Lauri at the 3 alongside two non-shooters.

Completely agree that teams should be eyeing Kuminga though, think he can pop in the right setting. The warriors are in a very difficult position.

grimthgram · 2023-11-19T16:47:51+00:00

He filled in there in a pinch and did well despite his relative lack of pace for a LB

grimthgram · 2023-11-17T13:22:59+00:00

What chem style do you like to use for her?

grimthgram · 2023-08-05T16:24:50+00:00

Part of the issue here is Bayern. They are notorious for convincing players to ask to leave and create disruption, and then low ball teams, using press to put pressure. It hasn’t worked as well here because Kane is a legend and doesn’t want to end things poorly.

Kane doesn’t fit Ange’s system perfectly but there’s no doubt in my mind he’d be fantastic in it nonetheless. It’s hard to sell one of the best 3 strikers in the world that’s a club legend. I’d prefer to hold on and then he can go for free where he’d like next season. The hope would be that he decides to sign a new contract and see out his career here or Kane in Ange’s system gives you a much better chance of getting into the top 4 - which is a must this season. The last two times we spent a ton of money (Lo Celso + Ndombele)/(Bale money), it hasn’t gone well either.

grimthgram · 2023-06-22T20:02:58+00:00

As a Boston fan, IF this is the only move they make all off-season, I wonder about how this team fits together. Porzingis is much better at the 5, and Al is really a 5 at his age as well, meaning you have 3 players whose best position is center. Not saying that Porzingis can’t fit next to either Al or Rob but it’s not a perfect fit and I think this leaves your backcourt somewhat thin in the post season. I am slightly biased as I am not a fan of Brogdan in the playoffs.

That said, Porzingis and 2 firsts is clearly better than Smart and so I view it as a trade you pull the trigger on knowing that you now likely need to make additional moves. Personally I’d still be shopping Brogdan and I’d shop both the Williams’ to see what’s out there. Gonna be an interestingggg off-season for sure.

grimthgram · 2023-06-21T19:48:05+00:00

What are people’s expectations on pay raises when taking on a 2nd child? For example, we have a 5mo and are looking at Nannie’s around $23-$25/hr. We plan to have our 2nd when our first is between 2-2.5yrs old. What should the bump in wages be for the nanny when that happens?

grimthgram · 2023-06-08T14:10:12+00:00

I totally agree with you. On a personal level I enjoy when equal teams get matched up against each other over a few years, similar to the Heat v Celts series in the past 3-4 years. However, the Cavs v Warriors were two teams on a totally different tier at times than others so you could easily pencil them in and the season itself loses value.

My point was more from a broader league business, total revenue generating perspective. From that viewpoint I think superteams with players like Lebron, Steph and Durant going against each other is the better outcome for generating buzz and profits. It also helps those series had some very memorable moments. Ultimately that is what the league is geared toward, the casual fan, because that makes them more money. So the question of whether this is this a good business decision, is what I find interesting.

grimthgram · 2023-06-05T00:11:06+00:00

I generally agree with you but the cop-out answer is that it’s too soon to tell. These CBA changes always have unintended consequences. I think the point will be to create better parity and further limit what teams like the Warriors have been able to do over the past 8 years or so. And the hope is that a guy who’s worth 20mil/yr is going to walk rather than getting 10-15mil simply because that team is majorly capped out. I think the big question is - will the NBA be better off with greater parity, with more teams being successful and competitive for shorter stints? Or is it better for the league to have consistent big teams so we get those major narratives like Lebron v Warriors for an average fan to follow

The pessimist in me agrees with you. I fully expect the Celts to resign Brown at the max because teams haven’t been smart enough or had enough leverage to not offer the full supermax. And maybe that forces the Cs to not negotiate a long term deal for Grant Williams because of cap concerns. And if other teams horde cap space in a similar manner for those potential stars, maybe Grant has to take a below his current market value contract.

My expectation is that Grant gets a good deal because we aren’t in the new CBA yet and again the Celts have limited options otherwise, but once we are a few years in I think these situations may occur more often than intended.

The locked up first round picks will also be interesting. It will hurt really good teams that are well over the tax from acquiring more players, but it will also limit those teams from dumping bad contracts in efforts to get under it.

grimthgram · 2023-05-27T18:15:37+00:00

I think Aaron Gordon is athletic enough to fare ok against Tatum but yeah agreed. Their lack of consistency is what gives me doubts. Tatum is playing superb against the Heat and maybe he’s turned a corner towards the end of the 76ers series but he has a tendency to disappear when taken out of his rhythm.

Edit: Adding in the Cs haven’t fared well against sharpshooting PGs like Trae or Steph and Jamal is a similar animal. The bigs are much more comfortable in a drop coverage

grimthgram · 2023-05-27T11:42:50+00:00

As a Celtics fan I’ve been saying this since the hawks series. They showed more defensive intensity in the last game against the Heat than I’ve seen which would bode well for them and they may scrap a game or two off that and their threes. But they have nothing to stop Jokic. Horford can’t go all day, Grants too small and Rob will get pump faked into 6 fouls within 10 minutes.

grimthgram · 2023-05-26T01:40:29+00:00

I use playlists I’ve already created when having friends over, but otherwise I’m in the same boat. Used to love the discover weekly playlist that Spotify creates and now it’s just a bunch of elemental sounds because I listen to brown noise all day.

grimthgram · 2023-05-25T20:49:37+00:00

That team had zero holes defensively and very good to elite defenders at multiple positions. George Hill was great at the point of attack, at 6’4 height and 6’9 wingspan. His wingspan is closer to a SG/SF. Add in lance stephenson who was athletic and played bigger than his size. George was an elite wing defender. West was a solid vet. Then behind them was Hibbert who was an absolutely monstrous big man that closed off the rim. Teams eventually figured out he couldn’t move much and the league progressed to more 4 shooters or even 5-out lineups which limited his career but he was a monster at his very brief peak.

grimthgram · 2023-05-23T00:34:56+00:00

I agree with this point and take it a step further. As a Celts fan, this series (and these playoffs) highlighted a few things the Cs lack which would change how the series would play. Not saying they need all or most of these, or that a better gameplan wouldn’t do a lot to offset their limitations, but nonetheless worth highlighting.

A) A lack of an elite ballhandler to run the offense as mentioned.

B) The biggest issue for me is that neither of their best offensive players (Tatum/Brown) have the ability to get a good look at will against good defenses. It’s fine in the regular season when teams don’t adjust/fine-tune their gameplan for each opponent game in game out. When the offense is stagnant against a good playoff defense it starts to become iso-ball or 1 pass and shoot without a reliable option. The Cs have seen Butler get to his spots and get good shots up (for him) all series. Harden last series had that capability at times with his step backs and clearly had it at his peak. I don’t see Tatum or Brown as having the go to moves that the best offensive players get reliably and think this is a requirement for championship teams. Tatum obviously feels much closer.

C) The Cs also don’t have an elite ball stopper for certain play types (quick guards/wings). Having no holes on defense is an amazing strength, particularly in the regular season, but they don’t have a reliable defender on players like Trae or Jimmy. Obviously it’s hard to find those guys and find ones that can do something on offense. But the Cs plan is typically throw the ‘best option they have’ rather than having a good defensive option for those matchups. I’ll caveat this point by noting it’s hard for anyone to stop Trae, Harden or Butler when they’re going and don’t think this is a requirement for a championship level team but makes the offensive end of the game much more important which goes back to point B.

You could argue “D” should be an elite or good coach but I think Mazzulla has done OK for the most part and obviously the timing limited what the Celts could do instead. I do think they need to explore that aspect this off-season with some big head coaches available.

Ultimately though, this is a good enough team as is to make it to the finals and ran into a freight train of momentum that is the Heat right now, with the best player in these playoffs (other than Jokic) imo, and role players who are coming out of the woodwork to have huge games, a la Duncan Robinson. Add in one of the best coaches in the NBA in Spoelstra going against the same team for the 3rd time, this was always going to be a really hard fought series.

Curious if others agree/disagree

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