sort by BPM and he's still #7.

he's also a clear contributor to them winning games. he's playing excellent defense, and playing incredible efficient offense while still shouldering some of the role (.629 TS%, 13% TOV, 18% USG).

edit again: even if you take a full .1 off his WS/48 (which seems fair, given the bump marcus morris has seen over prior seasons), he's still got the #15 best rookie season by a 19/20 year old rookie (and hes 19, not 20). just about everyone above him on the list was good to great. he's basically can't miss at this point.

I got the Canz as the eventual 3 seed.

By eventual do you mean in 2028?

i wish the Canz still had omri casspi instead of letting him go to GSW for peanuts and then playing darius miller and dante cunningham.

While a valid point, he's actually contributing to them being 16-2. He's not your typical crappy rookie. He's playing winning ball vs starting lineups playing starters' minutes. At 19.

I agree that having a positive impact on a team no matter how slight is fantastic for a rookie, especially on defense. BRAD though

It's just silly to use team stats and apply it to an individual when he's been the 4th most important player in the lineup with a huge gap behind the Top 3. We should probably find ways to adjust for the context.

wonder if the clips will field offers for blake or daj

Would anyone trade for Blake? That's a monster contract.

DAJ might be worth something, but not much imo. Maybe some team kicks the tires on Gallo.

Noah Willy and Jarrett Jack for Blake, you can throw in Rivers to balance it out

Actually MEH, lol Blake


ETA: I guess it's really LOL DOC more than anything else, it's really amazing how much Doc and Rondo have benefited from 3 Hall of Famers

Beverly officially out for the season. Good job Doc giving him another go the other night

Milwaukee only has one more win than Phoenix this year

I love Lauri and think he's great but having him over Tatum is crazy.

I mean, I agree? I just think it's probably not like a 'whole tier' apart

I just think, to steal a line from Bobbo, we don't know what we don't know. Lauri is in the worst possible situation and he sticks out like a sore thumb. Justin Holiday chucks every time he touches the ball, Kris Dunn dribbles the ball into oblivion, and yet Lauri runs around setting screens, navigate arounds screens set for him like a veteran. I just think in a normal situation we'd be talking a lot more about him, and if he was coached by BRAD he'd be the next Dirk.

Otoh Tatum, who has looked amazing, is in a situation where a guy is capable of carrying a huge usage attracting a bunch of attention and is being taught the right (ball/player movement) way to play where he can thrive as a role player. Obviously it's kind of moot to say "ya but if Tatum was drafted by Sacramento he'd be viewed differently" but I think when you're comparing players in a vacuum these things need to be noted.

Also, despite Tatum kind of being a super role player on Boston, I'm still not really sure what his ceiling is. Like if he reaches his top 1% what does he look like? Is he Melo still? Because Lauri's height+shooting ability give him a very clear ceiling. That's part of the reason I prefer Lauri, although I'm open to that being flawed logic (i.e, we shouldn't fear the unknown)

I think this is the right way to develop a high draft pick, teaching him the "right" way to play instead of just force-feeding him minutes as the #1 option. Obviously, the Celtics are a special case because they already have a good team, but I think you develop young talent better by surrounding them with fundamentally sound veterans who won't help you be more than mediocre but who will provide a coherent scheme within which to develop a rookie instead of throwing out a D-League squad.

There should be more top five picks who aren't automatically handed a starting job.

tatum's top 1% is a perennial all-nba wing.

DAJ is a FA at the end of the year so doubt he nets much. Blake given that contract wouldn't net much in return either. I could see DAJ getting moved just for the hell of it though really since they probably aren't going to pay him. Atleast I'd assume they won't be paying him now.

I do think L Will and/or Rivers get dealt for late 1sts. Both those guys could help contenders.

That Lowe article after their 4-0 start seems like a lifetime ago.

Thats like his top 6%

Top 1% is an MVP

He's 19, doing the 'super role player' is so unfair.

If anything, his ceiling is a super stud scorer, like an easy first option on a good team. He's not the passer Melo is, I'd say passing in general is Tatum's weakness so far, was at Duke too. But being Melo without a lot of the strange social/psychological problems Melo has had being on a team could be a really really sick player.

Like "oh his ceiling is a Melo who can function on a team and tries on defense, meh" is a weird position.

I didn't like Tatum and am waiving the white flag as anti-Duke bias. He's so good right now at 19 it's stupid and his ceiling is an offensive powerhouse

Last time Porzingis got completely shut down against Siakam and Lowry in the post, will be fun to see if the same thing happens tonight.

DAJ to Wiz for Gortat/pick works.

Pretty good time for Wiz to seize the day here and try to get to the finals right before Bucks/Sixers/Celts really hit their peaks and while LeBron/Cavs finally appear to be vulnerable.

The thing about Tatum is he's huge. He's got a very projectable body. Melo that isn't a clown is an extremely valuable player. Lauri looks more maxed out physically, and probably can't carry usage like Tatum will be able to. Im extremely high on both.