This team went from exciting to nothing but a mirage and has thoroughly pissed me off...

[Proudiddy]

8 hours ago, rippadonn said:

Not the same player as before the wrist. Before the wrist, All-star, ROY. After, just a mortal. He's not 100%. He's protecting that wrist and it shows. He had 0 problem scoring before, it's clearly bothering him.

If he was on a stacked playoff contender he could have come back gently but since the talent doesn't always show up night in night out, and you have absolutely nobody who stays hot aside from Terry and Miles, the kid had to suck it up and play.

Jordan would often hide injuries so opponents wouldn't target them. 

He'll be back to himself next season, stronger physically and wiser. 

We obviously need to add another scorer with Gordon being a ? and PJ and Monk being so inconsistent.

 

Agreed 100%.  I hope Melo is still able to get the rookie of the year, but his play since coming back from the injury has been pretty rough...  like you said, he clearly isn't playing 100%, he is still favoring the wrist and doesn't trust it.  He is working it out between plays and grabbing at it throughout the game, and it obviously has affected his shot both on the floor and from the line, as well as his aggression in driving.  Furthermore, as you alluded to with MJ, it has been crystal clear that teams are targeting his wrist since he came back.  Every game someone has taken a hard slap or shot at his wrist on the drive.  It just sucks we, as a team, flamed out so bad down the stretch because I feel just like with Chinn vs Young in the NFL, Chase ended up getting ROY because they played themselves into the spotlight down the stretch and garnered national hype, while we faltered and Chinn lost the hype nationally down the stretch, despite being the best player all season.

[trueblue]

This team has been ravaged by injuries and the lack of any competent/consistent big man play. 

I'm not sure why JB is taking any poop for this season, they overachieved and then get decimated by key injuries. The way this roster is constructed, optimal health was the only thing hiding its key flaw. I also think Melo might have hit a bit of a wall- his injury sure as hell took the wind out of his sails. 

This team is a big man and some health away from being 4/5 best team in the east.. 

 

[Daddy_Uncle]

Don't talk poo about Ish Smith. He was my highschool classmate and a really good dude

[Daddy_Uncle]

Realistically this team over performed the entire season for that roster. The fact we were ever in 4th place is crazy with our roster and the injuries/covid we dealt with all season long. This team is nowhere near complete but I'm happy with the potential they showed us for the future. They are very young and will get better. Just need a few more pieces which we should be able to get. Im excited about this team. Im not going to be mad about a team that way outperformed their expectations 

[rippadonn]

6 hours ago, trueblue said:

This team has been ravaged by injuries and the lack of any competent/consistent big man play. 

I'm not sure why JB is taking any poop for this season, they overachieved and then get decimated by key injuries. The way this roster is constructed, optimal health was the only thing hiding its key flaw. I also think Melo might have hit a bit of a wall- his injury sure as hell took the wind out of his sails. 

This team is a big man and some health away from being 4/5 best team in the east.. 

 

He's still new but I think he's a good coach. His roster was constantly changing due to injuries and he still kept them on task and in playoff contention.

[Proudiddy]

I dont mean to take a complete dump on JB, and obviously the initial post came off that way in the heat of the moment after we just lost a second straight winnable game that knocked us out of 8th and down to 10th.  I think all we had to do was win a game over the last week to clinch 8th, and we just couldn't do it.  Again, some of JB's decisions like the rotations, who is and isn't playing on any given night, and then drawing up plays for Devontae to take the last shot instead of Terry are what frustrates me.  I think he's a good coach, and I would take him every time over our previous coaches, but he is still flawed...  hopefully he learns and overcomes those flaws as time goes on.  But, the uncanny parallel to Rivera's teams not showing up when something was on the line is a legit issue.  I understand we exceeded expectations and outperformed where many thought we would be at this point, but it was just so frustrating seeing us squander all those leads late and the offense go into a complete shell for almost the entirety of the 4th quarter over several games.  I understand we had key injuries, but we have to generate offense in someway, and even with the injuries, we had enough to do that...  we just didn't.  

FWIW, I was watching The Jump yesterday, and Matt Barnes and RJ both said they think we'll beat the Pacers and raved about us, and the BPI has us at a 51% chance to win.  But, I don't think national guys saw how bad we looked down the stretch here either.  Again, I'm hoping for the best, but I was extremely discouraged by what I've seen over the last month.

[NAS]

I kind of wish we just missed the playoffs all together, let Lamelo come back healthy and stronger instead of risking another injury for what will be a meaningless playoff game. 

[Proudiddy]

4 hours ago, NAS said:

I kind of wish we just missed the playoffs all together, let Lamelo come back healthy and stronger instead of risking another injury for what will be a meaningless playoff game. 

JB seemed really upbeat and encouraged with what LaMelo did against WSH, so maybe he saw something I didnt and it carries over to tonight.  He just still looked really uncomfortable shooting to me, and it just seems the wrist has taken away his confidence in driving and throwing certain passes.

[rippadonn]

To come back unselfishly, knowing he's not 100% maybe not even 85% says all you need to know when picking your ROY. Playing through discomfort and cheap shots he's still dropping 20. If these Hornets can get their groove back they'll be trouble and if LaMelo can take them there you've got to then consider this guy for MVP.

 

[Shocker]

On 5/17/2021 at 12:51 PM, Daddy_Uncle said:

Don't talk poo about Ish Smith. He was my highschool classmate and a really good dude

You went to Concord huh.  Ish is a good dude and has made something of his career...awesome stuff

[ncstatekwi]

[USDepartmentOfSavagery]

1 hour ago, Shocker said:

You went to Concord huh.  Ish is a good dude and has made something of his career...awesome stuff

Central Cabarrus. Probably the only elite athlete the schools has produced but AL Brown and Concord regularly poach the county school’s best. 

[Shocker]

5 minutes ago, USDepartmentOfSavagery said:

Central Cabarrus. Probably the only elite athlete the schools has produced but AL Brown and Concord regularly poach the county school’s best. 

No...Natron Means played at central and a super bowl for the Chargers.  There are a lot more from Concord like Hitchcock.

My wife is good friends with Natron...super nice guy.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Shocker

[IceUpSon2001]

I am not sure Borrego is to blame completely but, he definitely deserves some. We were in 4th place before the injury bug hit so, he must have been doing something right. My problem all year has been defense and lack of it. We do not have a big man in the middle to rebound and stop other teams. Clint Capela would have been a better addition to this team rather than Hayward. So many times this year it seemed we had five guards on the floor. Shooters but no rebounders. Nic Richards and Vernon Carey didn't sniff the lineup many games. Once we went on our epic flaming dumpster rolling down a hill collapse Borrego should have at least played those guys. We lost anyway...

Almost like the Panthers signing Teddy and winning 5 games. We should have left Teddy to go elsewhere and roll with Will Grier.  If that had happened, we would have Trevor Lawrence right now.