possibly. we just need someone else to step up. let's get a troy brown special in one of these games. or beasley hitting 6 threes. it doesn't have to be rui or reaves.
Finally the injuries are working in our favor. That being said, the Grizz aren’t going to just go away- the Lakers have to put them away. I actually hope Ja only misses one game because he’s fun to watch and they are already down two rotation pieces.
no. but it was a 4 point game when ja went out, and the final score wasn't indicative of the competitiveness of the game.
IF Ja is out - we have to step on their throats. No mercy. I kinda hope he's NOT out because I feel if he's out, we'll "take it easy" against the "short-handed" grizzlies. Also, Grizzlies are another team that THRIVES being the "underdog"...they don't do well when there's expectations to win. We need to not take these guys lightly and without Ja, I feel that's exactly what we'll do and it's the ultimate trap game.
Yeah if Adams and Clarke were healthy I would have picked the Grizzlies. They're still a very good team but it's odd that in the modern NBA an old school bruiser like Adams would have been such a difference maker for them
word. and tbh, this is most teams. it's so much easier to play well when there aren't expectations. i think it helped the clips in their game 1 and may have helped us in ours, too. now everybody thinks the grizz are out of it, and they'll be more comfortable with that. we can and should still be able to get another win, but not if we think it's going to be a walk in the park.
you watch the clips/suns? mason plumlee* lowkey won that game. again, it all started with kawhi of course, huge caveat. but bigs have a place in this game still. adams sets great screens and just puts bodies on folks every trip down. always a threat on the offensive glass. it's withering. *footnote: while i like the real trades we made better, my hypothetical trades returning guys like conley and plumlee definitely still look good to me.
I just didn't think Adams had the footspeed to keep on the switches when targeted. That being said I worry about just assuming some of this stuff (like Conley) would work in the post-season. When the Jazz played the Nuggets for example, it was only as the games went on did the Nuggets headhunt Conley relentlessly and it was brutal and why a lot of people thought he was washed. Even in the play in games just not a lot of time to prep and more importantly instill the message into actionable plan but in a series, I do wonder just like Conley how the Grizzlies defense would handle say Adams out on D.Lo or Schroeder. Lakers would have liked that switch. Then again Kerr got roasted playing Ezeli in the 4th quarter of a game 7 in the NBA finals. Lebron hit him for a bunch of points but man did he set some brutal screens that led to some wide open misses by GS. Without those good screens offense got rough (or maybe that was just fatigue and the pressure of a game 7?)
I would still be very cautious if Ja was out. They are still dangerous. I'd think hard about sticking AD on JJJ the whole game to lock him up and hope Vando and Reaves can keep Bane and Jones from going off. Griz have experience playing without Ja for stretches in the season.
Sixers look ready. Great defensive game from them and they exploited the double team on Embiid to a tee in the 2nd half. I could see Sixers sweep this nets team...and I'll expect a tweet from Kuz when that does happen directed at dinshittie lol
game 2 will be a classic trap game if ja is out. fully expect someone like bane, brooks, or kennard to go off in his absence and steal the game
gotta give it to Mike Brown, amazing job with this Sacramento team. this was the best I've seen any team defend Curry probably ever it will be extremely hard for us if we face the Kings, especially since Fox always goes supernova against us in the 4th
