Betrayer

Can we talk about how overrated Garland is? Also, Mobley doesn’t impress me without Allen next to him Mitchell carrying this team with 50 pts on a bum knee. I don’t really care who gets the honor of being swept by Boston, but I just want Orlando to lose already so we can interview John Hammond.

You and me both.

And yet the Pistons still have Weaver and Williams.

I don't know, when you start assaulting fans - twice in one incident - that's a major line you've crossed. Very different from choking out a fellow employee (although I think Draymond should've been suspended for the entire season for that). I have to imagine that the league still has PTSD from the Malice at the Palace. If I'm Silver I set an example an suspend him for the entire next season.

At some point apologies don't cut it. When it's the same person, acting the same way, over and over again apologies mean absolutely nothing and further actions are required.

The PoBO (or HoBO as they're calling it now) is being brought in to fire people so Tom doesn't have to do it. That's my opinion, but it makes sense from what we know of Gores. One of Weaver or Monty will be gone. I'm assuming it's Monty because the HoBO will probably need Weaver's research for this draft since it will be so late by then. As far as those trades, I feel like that article is the same every year. I'm not sure I trust the beat writers to answer for the organizations, certainly not if I'm judging by our beat writers who have no clue. Some GM out there had Ivey and/or Duren high on their big board and thinks they can be a star. I just have to hope that the HoBO can find that GM and that he has something we want in return. It's part of the reason we need to test the market now, because most of their value is still riding on them as prospects - that mystique diminishes slightly with every game they play. Either way, you can't just roll back the same team that won 14 games (plus Tobias) and expect it to be better. I think even Gores can see that and I expect he's been embarrassed enough this season that he's going to be demanding major changes. My only hope is that it doesn't swing too hard the other way and we wind up with another Blake situation (Lavine or Ingram with the 4 year 205M extension he's going to want).

How do the rest of them let that happen and not call him out on it? Pat Bev is such a piece of garbage. Another bully, just like Draymond.

Me too.

Love seeing a Carlisle team pickup full court on defense again. Also, if you’re curious about the .5 second offense we never ran, watch Indy. Pass, shoot, drive, or kick without hesitation, holding the ball, and over dribbling.

The JEIII method - just name everyone you can possibly think of so you have a better shot at taking a victory lap later. How many names has rattled off so far? Seven?

Indy's defense is bad at an epic level. Sounds great to outscore everyone in the regular season, but it just doesn't work that way in the playoffs where defense wins games (even the current level of defense allowed). Even bench units can beat you down if you just let them score whenever they want.

Windy mentioned it could be to get a no trade clause in his contract and also to put pressure on the org to make changes (Darvin Ham and others).

I think I've seen that movie. It was called "Stand Up Guys". Pretty bad movie about geriatrics having their last hurrah.

Sounds like he'll feel right at home here since the coaching decisions will also not be his choice.

JEIII was on a pod saying that he wouldn't expect anything until mid or late May.

They were just giving him layup after layup. It was mind boggling. Some of the worst defense I've seen in a while.

Everybody can see this. People have been talking about it all year. The question is, can Gores swallow his pride and his wallet enough to fire the guy after he spent so much time making sure everyone knew he over-ruled Troy to bring him in? He trotted Monty out there like he was taking championship victory laps. I guess we'll see what happens with the POBO. Maybe that's why Gores is bringing that person in - to fire Troy and Monty for him because he doesn't have the guts to do it himself. Someone else said this, but the slow trickle of stories coming out now about Monty from the beat writers is reminiscent of how it was with Bey right around when he was moved. Even our guy JEIII, who notoriously doesn't like to burn bridges, has come out and said a lot of bad things about Monty. Maybe the beat writers already know something we don't. I can only hope that's true.

Lakers

Apparently Stewart made some anti-vax post this morning and then his account was deleted afterwards (I'm guessing Pistons PR team gave him a call).

Good coaches elevate their teams and make them better than the sum of their parts. Bad coaches...well, I don't need to explain this. We've all lived through the past 20 years together. Monty was just the exclamation point. So tired of hearing how "Monty will do better if he gets better players." Sure, and they'll only perform at or below their individual ability. That's the definition of a bad coach. We've all just forgotten because it's been so long since we had Larry Brown and Rick Carlisle.

The core of this whole thing is Mikal Bridges, and although it's arguably a slight overpay for a guy who's never been an All-Star, I'd still do it. He's exactly what this team needs, from his defense to his shooting to his iron man availability. As for what we're losing, I'm ok with it because I don't buy Ivey next to Cade with his streaky shooting and poor defense, and we don't have the luxury of keeping him to be a 6th man. Duren may be a better version of Drummond, but I'm not sure if he'll ever space the floor or protect the paint, and I think you have to do one of those two things to be a playoff Center in today's NBA. As for the pick, we all know it's a weak draft. His other moves are OK. I haven't run the cap numbers to see if that maxes us out, but let's assume it does. Centers: I would also have Hartenstein on my list for that Center spot if Claxton gets too pricey. Hartenstein might be cheaper, although his value is going up with his playoff performance. Guards: I'm not sure I like Sasser, Grimes, and Wright as the other 3 guards. It all depends on how comfortable you are with Wright as your backup PG (and starter for 20 games when Cade is out). I might look to move Sasser (maybe with a couple seconds) to bring in an actual backup PG. We should also keep in mind that Ausar works at SG in lineups with other guys who can space (Bridges, Tek, Stew). They were always counting on Cade + one of the other 3 to pop or this whole things goes down the drain. Nothing new there. However, none of these contracts are bad (depending upon what Claxton/Hartenstein costs) and this team would probably be good enough to allow our pick to finally convey to the Knicks. That opens up our flexibility even more for future trades to bring in another All-Star.

That was a really good game. Despite my dislike of Kyrie, I love watching Luka play so I'm rooting for Dallas (and also because Harden is on LA). It was awesome seeing the Wolves win again as well. Ant has arrived and I love seeing KD fail. Wolves vs Nuggets next round would be epic. East hasn't been quite as compelling to me yet outside of Knicks vs Sixers.

Can't get more underwhelming than JEIII saying Casey is a candidate.

There are some people grumbling about the refs, but all of these playoffs games have been officiated like that. It's playoff officiating and I just wish the entire season was officiated that way.

My Mount Rushmore is Thomas, Wallace, Dumars, and Billups in that order. But I never paid much attention to the guys (like Lanier) who came before my time and are probably deserving of a spot.