Betrayer

He's not even looking like that. You can't stay in the league shooting 18%. His defense is decent and looks good on a team of bad defenders, but we're not talking about Ben Wallace or Dennis Rodman level defense here. And even those guys could do SOMETHING with the ball. The kid needs to spend some time in the G League and see if he can figure it out.

Kenny with the garbage take as usual.

That should solve all the PR issues they're having. Maybe Josh Primo can sign with them as well?

He's just not a good player. Send him to the G League, see if he figures himself out. Right now I'm staggering Cade and Ivey so one of them is in the game at all times and CoJo is my other guard off the bench until Burks comes back.

Nash must be so happy right now. Take that money and leave the drama behind. What a train wreck.

Weaver has turned SVGs pile of hot trash and broken finances into a ton of young potential and a totally clean and flexible financial situation. Getting a coach who can put these players in a better position to succeed and teach them a real NBA offense and defense would help, but it's undeniable that they're in a way better position as a franchise now then they were a few years ago. When your team is all at their ceiling, your finances are capped, you have no likeable players, and you know your best outcome is the 8th seed, there's no reason to watch. That was the Drummond era. Today we have a bunch of 19-22 years olds who have plenty of potential, are mostly likeable hard workers, and you have a ton of cap flexibility to start adding pieces once you see if this core you drafted works. It's a much better situation and much more fun to watch. Does it work? Time will tell.

The teal is so bad. Not just because of the era it represents but also because it's ugly, especially with the bright red alongside it.

That teal is so damn ugly. Anyway, can we start Duren now? Can we separate most of Bey and Bojan's minutes? Are we done with the Hami experiment? Does CoJo needs to start when Ivey is out? Does he need to finish also? Play McGruder or go bigger with Stew at PF or Livers in there. When Ivey comes back can we please have one of Cade or Ivey on the court at all times? It's not hard to do. One guy goes 12 minutes in, 7 out, 5 in, and the other guy does the opposite. They get 20 minutes together to gel and they also get 14 minutes to do their own thing. Let's not pretend we need to give Killian or CoJo PG reps. I noticed that the Hawks had no problem keeping one of Murray or Young in for the vast majority of the game. I get that Casey is not going to learn to implement a good offensive or defensive scheme, but this is pretty simple stuff that's obvious to anyone watching.

I'm starting to question the whole "Casey is a great developmental coach" line as well. How has Killian done? Has Cade looked better so far this year? What about Bey whose shot and efficiency have regressed? Maybe you can point to Stew taking threes now, but overall I think there's evidence on both sides of this argument and I'm not sure the real answer isn't simply, 'that's who these players would have been one way or the other.' What I DO know is that Casey is not a good coach from everything I see on the court. Bad lineup rotations, bad defensive scheme, bad offensive scheme, players that have regressed, a team that looks uninterested other than the rookies and a 33 years old who just joined up. Look, everyone expected this team to be bad, but it's not about the wins and losses, it's about the blowouts, lack of progress, and how incompetent and out of place this team looks amongst their NBA peers. What I see is a young team and a coach that's putting them in a really bad position night after night making things worse and impacting their development.

Yep. That's what I've been saying as well. Get Duren in the starting lineup. I don't care if he's young and not that great at team defense yet. They need the rebounding, size, and verticality. You also don't want Duren and Bagley together off the bench because the spacing will be terrible. So it's a win-win. You can either start Stewart next to Duren and send Bey or Bojan to the bench unit, or simply send Stewart to the bench unit as you suggested, where he'll play alongside Marvin once he returns. Any way you slice it, it's better size and athleticism for the starting unit and better spacing for a bench unit that sorely needs it. And while we're at it, can we PLEASE get Casey to leave one of Ivey or Cade in the game at all times. This 5-man bench platoon garbage needs to end immediately. Nearly every other coach in the league staggers their two best players - it's not that hard.

Lebron's reaction to that shot was priceless.

Every game will be a bad matchup for him because he’s undersized at the center position. He really needs that shot to click so he can fill the Grant Williams role otherwise he’s going to be a liability in nearly every game. Love the effort but it doesn’t make you taller or able to jump higher. It’s time to put Stew next to another big man (Duren) and just see how it goes for a 10 game stretch. Slide Bey to the bench. We need the defense, rebounding, and vertical threat with the starters. Bench unit would (when healthy) be Hayes, Burks, Livers, Bey, Bagley. That’s a defensively challenged unit, but should have a good amount of shooters and scoring - and better if Casey can learn to stagger Cade and Ivey so one of them is in the game at all times.

My biggest take away from watching this mess of a game was once again that Casey needs to learn how to stagger his lineups like pretty much every other coach in the league. One of Ivey or Cade should be in the game at all times. It’s not that hard to do. Oh, and if there’s time after that, maybe learn to put a legitimate NBA offense on the court. Tired of watching these players have to go one on one with a low shot clock all time because the garbage offense doesn’t shift the defense at all. Young teams will be bad, but no need for Casey to continue to pour gasoline on the fire.

Could be this was a better draft than everyone thought.

After pre-season Casey talked about using different lineups depending upon the matchup. Let's see if he learned anything from the game against the Knicks. Starting Bojan and Stew against Randle and Mitchell is a train wreck. Duren needs to be in the starting lineup for this one to matchup with Mitchell. Then run Stew at PF to matchup with Randle. Push Bey or Bojan to the bench and let them come in alongside Noel at Center (he's not on the inured list and this is his former team, so he should get some minutes).

Love watching the Lakers lose.

Well, that was fun. Ivey and Duren looking special out there. Bojan was as advertised and now that Cade has some shooters to pass to he racked up the assists. Casey actually ran a few different defensive looks, not just switch everything. Enjoy this win. It’s a rough schedule for the first 20 games.

That was a clean block.

Why take Duren out there? He just made the last two stops.

Ivey’s having a game.

I think Stew’s three will be fine. It’s actually another reason I want him paired with another big because he can space the floor for the other guy. Two of Bagley, Duren, and Noel together is a bad idea. You need Bojan or Stew paired up with one of them. Try to turn him into Grant Williams is your best bet.

Duren just killed an Orlando player. Get a stretcher.

The defense and rebounding are just better with Duren in there. Love Stew, but he and Bojan need to be separated and paired with another big (Duren, Noel, or Bagley).

It’s too bad we don’t have two 5 picks where you could leave one in the game at all times.

I'm definitely a fan of a more dynamic offense that doesn't revolve around one guy doing everything. It's just too predictable come playoff time unless that player is a generational talent like Lebron. I see Cade as a more crafty player like Chris Paul. You want the ball in his hands to create for others but he's not the sole focus of your offense like Luka. I'd love to see more movement, cutting, and passing in this offense rather than 4 guys standing around watching one guy play hero ball. Maybe Ivey can do some of that (we'll see), but in general we don't have the personnel for hero ball. Last year we got crushed by teams that played tight coverage and aggressive perimeter defense. You beat that with movement, cutting, and screening off ball rather than trying to straight-line drive past defenders that are longer and more athletic. Beating a dead horse, but sadly we won't get that with Casey at the helm.