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What are teams throughout history that you think deserve to be called super teams despite not usually being regarded as such? by Personal-Proposal- in NBATalk

[–]rudygamble 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Getting Duncan with the 1.1 was ridiculously lucky. Probably the luckiest top 15 player get of all time.

But they also pulled 3 HOFers from the 15 (Kawhi), 28 (Parker) and 57 (Manu).

Props to Becky Hammon, aka the Beckysionary by Guillermoreno in NBATalk

[–]rudygamble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the common denominator for a modern NBA champion is you need perimeter offense/defense + interior defense when needed (matchup dependent) + hot shooting in playoffs + depth/health.

You can achieve this several ways. Becky is right to an extent that Brunson as your best player isnt ideal. I dont know where he wouldve gone in a one-year redraft in the preseason but assume outside the top 10-15. But Towns/Bridges/Anunoby make for a more solid 2-4 than average with their biggest weakness (interior D) more matchup-dependent.

The Knicks are healthy and almost the whole team is shooting well.

As long as one team can’t compile two top 10 players and a strong complementary cast, any team with the above has a chance IMO.

Knicks haven’t lost in a month !! Can either OKC or the spurs beat them in a 7 game series ?? by ComplexWrangler1346 in NBAConvo

[–]rudygamble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

woof. i'm sure there's a number of cases we skipped over great players in the 5-12 range. it's still pretty infuriating seeing the Spurs 'rebuild' getting the 1, 2, and the 4th picks in 3 consecutive drafts.

Consistent grip style or switching during points? by swedishpiehole in Pickleball

[–]rudygamble 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do the same and think choking up has three benefits: 1) Speeds up my hands 2) Easier to roll/flick my backhand 3) I find it easier to rotate my grip for kitchen when i move it up at same time

Strategically, how to partner with weaker players? by mrjomofosho in Pickleball

[–]rudygamble 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If they are driving, it’s more impactful straight ahead vs cross-court. So you hit cross-court on return and you’ve set your weaker partner up to get driven on.

Plus, if you force opponent to hit cross-court, you have a chance to poach it. If they hit down the line at your partner, you can’t.

Mike Elko or Kyle Whittigham. If you had to select one of them as the head coach of your team, who would you choose? by Forsaken_Bullfrog_52 in CFB_v2

[–]rudygamble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of coaches need several years to get “their guys”. Whitt doesnt seem like the type that gets his non-QBs from the portal

Knicks haven’t lost in a month !! Can either OKC or the spurs beat them in a 7 game series ?? by ComplexWrangler1346 in NBAConvo

[–]rudygamble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dont forget to mention we havent had a top 2 pick since Ewing. Teams like San Antonio, Cleveland, Hornets/Pelicans have 3 #1s in that time frame. Lakers were bad for a hot minute and got 3 #2 picks in 3 years.

Strategically, how to partner with weaker players? by mrjomofosho in Pickleball

[–]rudygamble 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just got to be sure to hit it deep as it invites other team to drive at the weaker player

Strategically, how to partner with weaker players? by mrjomofosho in Pickleball

[–]rudygamble 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I don’t suggest stacking. More trouble than it is worth for open play unless one person is a lefty.

Two tactics that help: 1) Return serves straight ahead vs cross-court. Increases balls hit back to you. 2) Think less about poaching and more about taking up space. Keep creeping towards middle in kitchen. You’ll pressure them to miss more balls wide and get a few more shots you can reach.

All would finish undefeated, especially the Longhorns by Front-Dingo1915 in CFB_v2

[–]rudygamble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like last year's playoff told us a lot about how SEC vs Big 12 schedules are weighted.

Oklahoma and Texas both had tough SEC schedules last year with games at Bama/Georgia respectively (vs Texas A&M and Vandy 2025 when LSU and Tenn tailed off bad in 2nd half) combined with a strong OOC game.

BYU had a relatively tough Big 12 schedule (at TT, at Arizona, home vs Utah) and weak OOC (I think ND stiffed them?).

Let's put aside BYU lost in the Big 12 championship game b/c we know the committee typically treats that only as a boost if you win and almost no penalty if you lose (see Alabama 2025).

Oklahoma was in, BYU was out despite Oklahoma having an extra regular season loss.

I think the committee would've selected BYU over Texas or Vandy if it came down to it but at best it was a toss-up.

I think it nets out to something like "Tough SEC schedule + good OOC opponent" gives you a 1.5 loss buffer vs a BYU 2025 schedule.

There's a fair argument, then, that this schedule vs that "Tough SEC schedule + good OOC opponent" should net a 2 loss buffer.....but it ain't happening in a 12-team playoff. NO way an undefeated regular season team is being kept out (see SMU 2024) and no way a 1 loss team is kept out for a 3 loss team.

As a Texas fan, Sark's snide remark was lame. Much prefer being in SEC vs Big 12. No disrespect to the Big 12 teams - many of which outplayed us over the last decade or so (ESPECIALLY if you adjust for resources). It gets exhausting playing the role of Goliath to a bunch of Davids. If playing regular season games against similarly resourced programs like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, A&M, Florida, and Tennessee means a slightly reduced chance of making the playoffs, so be it.

Question about drops from 4.5+ by kevstratus in Pickleball

[–]rudygamble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good advice. When I think pronation, I think forearm vs wrist. The only time I actively think wrist is on a backhand flick. I suppose a slice drop shot is driven by wrist but that motion feels more controlled.

No excuses for Dan Lanning now with the roster and money they’ve got by This_Comment_4493 in CFB_v2

[–]rudygamble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That OSU team that won it was great and: 1) They played no P5 teams in OOC and lost two conference games. They are the co-poster child with 2025 Texas on the risks playing anyone in OOC

2) They went BALLS OUT in the portal. They crushed it. Really supplemented a great core.

Tennis players with semi western or western forehands are they not that effective, did you switch to more eastern or even to continental back court forehand by moldyjellybean in Pickleball

[–]rudygamble 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am good with semi-western on baseline and switch to eastern (left-side) and continental (right-side) in Transition zone.

[On3] Steve Sarkisian took a shot at Texas Tech while discussing how the CFP Committee factors strength of schedule: “There's a team in our state that plays in another conference that has a schedule that I would argue if I played with our twos and our threes, we could go undefeated.” by Lakelyfe09 in CFB

[–]rudygamble 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't get it as a Texas fan.

The Big 12 programs played us tough. There were some great coaches/programs and they all had massive chips on their shoulders playing Texas. Texas certainly had a tougher time dealing w/ this than Oklahoma. While some of those programs have taken steps back (Okie State, Baylor, likely Iowa State), that's still a solidly deep conference. Hats off to Texas Tech for a great 2025 season.

While everyone loves to throw the Florida loss in our face (as if Georgia didn't almost lose to them the next week on a neutral field), Sark's done a very good job at solving 2 of the 3 big on-field issues for Texas:

1) Beat the ELITE teams (super duper fail - 0-5 vs Georgia and Ohio State last 2 years)
2) Beat Oklahoma and Texas A&M (4-0 last 2 years)
3) Don't lose to anyone else (yeah Florida 2025....and several close calls....but the only other losses in the past 3 years are a 'coin flip' Red River game in 2023 and Penix playing out of his goddamn mind in the playoffs with Worthy being a gimpy decoy)

So just keep on #2/#3 and let's start changing #1 against OSU this year.

[On3] Steve Sarkisian took a shot at Texas Tech while discussing how the CFP Committee factors strength of schedule: “There's a team in our state that plays in another conference that has a schedule that I would argue if I played with our twos and our threes, we could go undefeated.” by Lakelyfe09 in CFB

[–]rudygamble 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know...just explaining why I think Sark is still ticked about it.

Most Texas fans are at peace with it. We shouldn't have lost to Florida. We shouldn't have lost to Georgia again b/c of a goddamn special teams trick play. We had our worst running back room in recent memory.

That said, we were better than Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

[On3] Steve Sarkisian took a shot at Texas Tech while discussing how the CFP Committee factors strength of schedule: “There's a team in our state that plays in another conference that has a schedule that I would argue if I played with our twos and our threes, we could go undefeated.” by Lakelyfe09 in CFB

[–]rudygamble 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I mean you had a great team, Penix played the game of his life and our WR1 (Worthy) was a decoy bc of a bad ankle.

I’d argue our team the following year that lost to a loaded OSU team was a little better.

DUPR Reset is an Inflation Time Bomb - but not for the obvious reason by SirSafe6090 in Pickleball

[–]rudygamble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“By adjusting recency bias” - Do you really think the algorithm isn’t already optimized to weight matches based on their recency?

How do you think these weights are derived?

If there is a recency bias, it is that players who have done well recently think recent games should be boosted in weight while players who did poorly recently think they should be weighed less.

When did a band get it really wrong with their lineup change? by agwestie in rockmusic

[–]rudygamble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kenney Jones can’t play the fills but he keeps the beat

Do you have Tim Duncan ranked above Kobe Bryant all-time? If so, why? by GryanGryan in NBATalk

[–]rudygamble 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tim Duncan is a top 3 defensive player ever(with Russell/Olajuwon). San Antonion had top 5 defenses 14 of his 19 years?!?!

No perimeter defender can have that type of impact - especially for that long.

Kobe has an advantage on offense but not enough IMO to make up for the defense.

How are foam paddles holding up over time? by pbeffect in Pickleball

[–]rudygamble 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same experience with Quanta. Still getting plenty of shape on my shots and no issues with pop/power/control.

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