NBA Season 2022-23

[gouki88]

This situation could present itself as a major dilemma for the Lakers, though, according to NBA insider Shams Charania, Simply put, LA might not be able to match whatever offer Reaves is able to receive in free agency in the offseason: “The most the Lakers can offer outright is four years, a bit over $50 million,” Shams said. “… But then, if you’re Austin Reaves, what can you get out in the marketplace? I think more and more teams around the league, teams with cap space, teams like Houston (and) San Antonio, you have to look at a guy like that because he’s not old. He’s not super young either. He’s kind of that middle-of-the-pack age range guy that is still young enough career-wise that can come in, fit among your group, be a veteran leader to an extent, but still grow and develop with your group. I think there is a concern for sure if you’re the Lakers that he’s gonna get potentially an offer sheet way, way, way higher than 50.”

Reaves is the restricted agent that I could see leaving teams this summer.  I don't think that Grant will be a big offer, but you've got to imagine that Reaves will get, bare minimum, Evan Fournier money, right?

Man, I really wanted to grab Reeves when he went undrafted. Bummer the Lakers got him.

That said, I don’t think he even plays on the Celtics.  I’m not convinced he’s significantly better than Pritchard.

He's like a 6'5" Pritchard.

Reaves is WAAAAAAY better than Pricthard.

Reaves shoots 60+% from 2 point range, as opposed to under 50% from Pritchard. He's way better at scoring at just about every spot inside than ARC than Pricthard, still a good three point shooter (tho on lower volume) and gets to the line alot, vs almost never for Pritchard. All of taht makes him a massively more efficient scorer than Pricthard.

Also, he's bigger. Which matters defensively.

Yeah...  I'm not seeing the Pritchard comparison.  They're both white, I guess, and 24 years old.  Reaves is quantitatively better, though.

Wake me up when Pritchard puts up 15 / 5 / 4 in the playoffs with good defense.

It wasn’t a Pritchard comparison, exactly.  It was that he wouldn’t get any playing time on the Celtics, like Pritchard, as liam was bemoaning a binkie not acquired.  I stand by that — Reaves wouldn’t play here, and Pritchard could play elsewhere.  I think we’ll see that next season, and if given the opportunity, the overall impact would be similar, even if they are not identical players.

I took the comment to mean Pritchard would be as good as A Reaves if Pritchard were 6 foot 5. Similar to comments by Chuck Daly (?) that said if Isiah Thomas were 6-6, he'd be the best player in the league. That the difference between Isiah and MJ was MJ was taller and that allowed him to be the more dominant basketball player. If their heights were switched, MJ 6-1 and Isiah 6-6, the results would be Isiah as the best player in the NBA.

But that Pritchard at 6-1 is equal to Reaves at 6-5 ... No.

A Reaves is a certifiable starter. He is a plus ball-handler & passer. He is a plus shooter. He can drive. He rebounds. He defends. He is a well rounded SG with size and skill.

Pritchard is a small PG who can shoot but is deficient in ball-handling & passing (important skills to be lacking in a PG) and does not impact the game much on D despite his best efforts due to his lack of size. Pritchard is a serviceable backup PG.

A Reaves would play on any team in the league. He'd be one of our top bench players here (backup SG/SF) if not our starting SG in our small ball lineup (replacing D White).

Pritchard has a place in this league as a low end backup PG on a minimum or near minimum contract. A Reaves is a starting caliber SG who will probably earn $20-25mil a year on his next deal.

Reaves would absolutely not start over White, come off it. White is a much, much better defender and a significantly better passer, with similar shooting ability. Reaves would be the 4th guard in our rotation (by a significant margin)

[liam]

This situation could present itself as a major dilemma for the Lakers, though, according to NBA insider Shams Charania, Simply put, LA might not be able to match whatever offer Reaves is able to receive in free agency in the offseason: “The most the Lakers can offer outright is four years, a bit over $50 million,” Shams said. “… But then, if you’re Austin Reaves, what can you get out in the marketplace? I think more and more teams around the league, teams with cap space, teams like Houston (and) San Antonio, you have to look at a guy like that because he’s not old. He’s not super young either. He’s kind of that middle-of-the-pack age range guy that is still young enough career-wise that can come in, fit among your group, be a veteran leader to an extent, but still grow and develop with your group. I think there is a concern for sure if you’re the Lakers that he’s gonna get potentially an offer sheet way, way, way higher than 50.”

Reaves is the restricted agent that I could see leaving teams this summer.  I don't think that Grant will be a big offer, but you've got to imagine that Reaves will get, bare minimum, Evan Fournier money, right?

Man, I really wanted to grab Reeves when he went undrafted. Bummer the Lakers got him.

That said, I don’t think he even plays on the Celtics.  I’m not convinced he’s significantly better than Pritchard.

He's like a 6'5" Pritchard.

Reaves is WAAAAAAY better than Pricthard.

Reaves shoots 60+% from 2 point range, as opposed to under 50% from Pritchard. He's way better at scoring at just about every spot inside than ARC than Pricthard, still a good three point shooter (tho on lower volume) and gets to the line alot, vs almost never for Pritchard. All of taht makes him a massively more efficient scorer than Pricthard.

Also, he's bigger. Which matters defensively.

Yeah...  I'm not seeing the Pritchard comparison.  They're both white, I guess, and 24 years old.  Reaves is quantitatively better, though.

Wake me up when Pritchard puts up 15 / 5 / 4 in the playoffs with good defense.

It wasn’t a Pritchard comparison, exactly.  It was that he wouldn’t get any playing time on the Celtics, like Pritchard, as liam was bemoaning a binkie not acquired.  I stand by that — Reaves wouldn’t play here, and Pritchard could play elsewhere.  I think we’ll see that next season, and if given the opportunity, the overall impact would be similar, even if they are not identical players.

I took the comment to mean Pritchard would be as good as A Reaves if Pritchard were 6 foot 5. Similar to comments by Chuck Daly (?) that said if Isiah Thomas were 6-6, he'd be the best player in the league. That the difference between Isiah and MJ was MJ was taller and that allowed him to be the more dominant basketball player. If their heights were switched, MJ 6-1 and Isiah 6-6, the results would be Isiah as the best player in the NBA.

But that Pritchard at 6-1 is equal to Reaves at 6-5 ... No.

A Reaves is a certifiable starter. He is a plus ball-handler & passer. He is a plus shooter. He can drive. He rebounds. He defends. He is a well rounded SG with size and skill.

Pritchard is a small PG who can shoot but is deficient in ball-handling & passing (important skills to be lacking in a PG) and does not impact the game much on D despite his best efforts due to his lack of size. Pritchard is a serviceable backup PG.

A Reaves would play on any team in the league. He'd be one of our top bench players here (backup SG/SF) if not our starting SG in our small ball lineup (replacing D White).

Pritchard has a place in this league as a low end backup PG on a minimum or near minimum contract. A Reaves is a starting caliber SG who will probably earn $20-25mil a year on his next deal.

Reaves would absolutely not start over White, come off it. White is a much, much better defender and a significantly better passer, with similar shooting ability. Reaves would be the 4th guard in our rotation (by a significant margin)

I like Reaves but he'd be our 5th guard after Brown, Brogdon, White, and Smart.

[gouki88]

This situation could present itself as a major dilemma for the Lakers, though, according to NBA insider Shams Charania, Simply put, LA might not be able to match whatever offer Reaves is able to receive in free agency in the offseason: “The most the Lakers can offer outright is four years, a bit over $50 million,” Shams said. “… But then, if you’re Austin Reaves, what can you get out in the marketplace? I think more and more teams around the league, teams with cap space, teams like Houston (and) San Antonio, you have to look at a guy like that because he’s not old. He’s not super young either. He’s kind of that middle-of-the-pack age range guy that is still young enough career-wise that can come in, fit among your group, be a veteran leader to an extent, but still grow and develop with your group. I think there is a concern for sure if you’re the Lakers that he’s gonna get potentially an offer sheet way, way, way higher than 50.”

Reaves is the restricted agent that I could see leaving teams this summer.  I don't think that Grant will be a big offer, but you've got to imagine that Reaves will get, bare minimum, Evan Fournier money, right?

Man, I really wanted to grab Reeves when he went undrafted. Bummer the Lakers got him.

That said, I don’t think he even plays on the Celtics.  I’m not convinced he’s significantly better than Pritchard.

He's like a 6'5" Pritchard.

Reaves is WAAAAAAY better than Pricthard.

Reaves shoots 60+% from 2 point range, as opposed to under 50% from Pritchard. He's way better at scoring at just about every spot inside than ARC than Pricthard, still a good three point shooter (tho on lower volume) and gets to the line alot, vs almost never for Pritchard. All of taht makes him a massively more efficient scorer than Pricthard.

Also, he's bigger. Which matters defensively.

Yeah...  I'm not seeing the Pritchard comparison.  They're both white, I guess, and 24 years old.  Reaves is quantitatively better, though.

Wake me up when Pritchard puts up 15 / 5 / 4 in the playoffs with good defense.

It wasn’t a Pritchard comparison, exactly.  It was that he wouldn’t get any playing time on the Celtics, like Pritchard, as liam was bemoaning a binkie not acquired.  I stand by that — Reaves wouldn’t play here, and Pritchard could play elsewhere.  I think we’ll see that next season, and if given the opportunity, the overall impact would be similar, even if they are not identical players.

I took the comment to mean Pritchard would be as good as A Reaves if Pritchard were 6 foot 5. Similar to comments by Chuck Daly (?) that said if Isiah Thomas were 6-6, he'd be the best player in the league. That the difference between Isiah and MJ was MJ was taller and that allowed him to be the more dominant basketball player. If their heights were switched, MJ 6-1 and Isiah 6-6, the results would be Isiah as the best player in the NBA.

But that Pritchard at 6-1 is equal to Reaves at 6-5 ... No.

A Reaves is a certifiable starter. He is a plus ball-handler & passer. He is a plus shooter. He can drive. He rebounds. He defends. He is a well rounded SG with size and skill.

Pritchard is a small PG who can shoot but is deficient in ball-handling & passing (important skills to be lacking in a PG) and does not impact the game much on D despite his best efforts due to his lack of size. Pritchard is a serviceable backup PG.

A Reaves would play on any team in the league. He'd be one of our top bench players here (backup SG/SF) if not our starting SG in our small ball lineup (replacing D White).

Pritchard has a place in this league as a low end backup PG on a minimum or near minimum contract. A Reaves is a starting caliber SG who will probably earn $20-25mil a year on his next deal.

Reaves would absolutely not start over White, come off it. White is a much, much better defender and a significantly better passer, with similar shooting ability. Reaves would be the 4th guard in our rotation (by a significant margin)

I like Reaves but he'd be our 5th guard after Brown, Brogdon, White, and Smart.

Sorry, had been classifying Brown as a wing. If Brown is a guard, then yeah - Reaves would be 5th.

[liam]

This situation could present itself as a major dilemma for the Lakers, though, according to NBA insider Shams Charania, Simply put, LA might not be able to match whatever offer Reaves is able to receive in free agency in the offseason: “The most the Lakers can offer outright is four years, a bit over $50 million,” Shams said. “… But then, if you’re Austin Reaves, what can you get out in the marketplace? I think more and more teams around the league, teams with cap space, teams like Houston (and) San Antonio, you have to look at a guy like that because he’s not old. He’s not super young either. He’s kind of that middle-of-the-pack age range guy that is still young enough career-wise that can come in, fit among your group, be a veteran leader to an extent, but still grow and develop with your group. I think there is a concern for sure if you’re the Lakers that he’s gonna get potentially an offer sheet way, way, way higher than 50.”

Reaves is the restricted agent that I could see leaving teams this summer.  I don't think that Grant will be a big offer, but you've got to imagine that Reaves will get, bare minimum, Evan Fournier money, right?

Man, I really wanted to grab Reeves when he went undrafted. Bummer the Lakers got him.

That said, I don’t think he even plays on the Celtics.  I’m not convinced he’s significantly better than Pritchard.

He's like a 6'5" Pritchard.

Reaves is WAAAAAAY better than Pricthard.

Reaves shoots 60+% from 2 point range, as opposed to under 50% from Pritchard. He's way better at scoring at just about every spot inside than ARC than Pricthard, still a good three point shooter (tho on lower volume) and gets to the line alot, vs almost never for Pritchard. All of taht makes him a massively more efficient scorer than Pricthard.

Also, he's bigger. Which matters defensively.

Yeah...  I'm not seeing the Pritchard comparison.  They're both white, I guess, and 24 years old.  Reaves is quantitatively better, though.

Wake me up when Pritchard puts up 15 / 5 / 4 in the playoffs with good defense.

It wasn’t a Pritchard comparison, exactly.  It was that he wouldn’t get any playing time on the Celtics, like Pritchard, as liam was bemoaning a binkie not acquired.  I stand by that — Reaves wouldn’t play here, and Pritchard could play elsewhere.  I think we’ll see that next season, and if given the opportunity, the overall impact would be similar, even if they are not identical players.

I took the comment to mean Pritchard would be as good as A Reaves if Pritchard were 6 foot 5. Similar to comments by Chuck Daly (?) that said if Isiah Thomas were 6-6, he'd be the best player in the league. That the difference between Isiah and MJ was MJ was taller and that allowed him to be the more dominant basketball player. If their heights were switched, MJ 6-1 and Isiah 6-6, the results would be Isiah as the best player in the NBA.

But that Pritchard at 6-1 is equal to Reaves at 6-5 ... No.

A Reaves is a certifiable starter. He is a plus ball-handler & passer. He is a plus shooter. He can drive. He rebounds. He defends. He is a well rounded SG with size and skill.

Pritchard is a small PG who can shoot but is deficient in ball-handling & passing (important skills to be lacking in a PG) and does not impact the game much on D despite his best efforts due to his lack of size. Pritchard is a serviceable backup PG.

A Reaves would play on any team in the league. He'd be one of our top bench players here (backup SG/SF) if not our starting SG in our small ball lineup (replacing D White).

Pritchard has a place in this league as a low end backup PG on a minimum or near minimum contract. A Reaves is a starting caliber SG who will probably earn $20-25mil a year on his next deal.

Reaves would absolutely not start over White, come off it. White is a much, much better defender and a significantly better passer, with similar shooting ability. Reaves would be the 4th guard in our rotation (by a significant margin)

I like Reaves but he'd be our 5th guard after Brown, Brogdon, White, and Smart.

Sorry, had been classifying Brown as a wing. If Brown is a guard, then yeah - Reaves would be 5th.

Got you.

[Phantom255x]

Reaves to me is another guy who just benefits being in LA and also getting the whistles from the refs

Sort of like Kuzma/Caruso

He'll be like Hauser on most other teams (8th-9th man)

[Who]

A Reaves would play on any team in the league. He'd be one of our top bench players here (backup SG/SF) if not our starting SG in our small ball lineup (replacing D White).

Reaves would absolutely not start over White, come off it. White is a much, much better defender and a significantly better passer, with similar shooting ability. Reaves would be the 4th guard in our rotation (by a significant margin)

It is interesting to wonder about - A Reaves vs D White. It's also interesting to ponder about A Reaves vs Brogdon.

Reaves vs D White

D White is clearly the better PG but I am not sure he is a better SG than Reaves. I trust Reaves offensive game more. D White had a strong 1st round against ATL (17ppg) but was quiet against PHI. Often a no-show on offense (against PHI). Only 9ppg and 1apg (against PHI).

I am not sure which one of them is better but it is a debate to my mind which one would start.

I rate D White in that 10-15 range among starting PGs but I am not sure I would rate him that high among SGs. I want more scoring and shooting there. His defense is elite at PG but more above average at SG when facing bigger opponents. White has had a great year shooting wise but I still don't have that much trust in his shot given all the years of mediocre shooting. The no-show against PHI on offense bringing those doubts back to the surface.

A Reaves is more of a pure SG. A prototypical player for the position. More of a shooter. More of a scorer. And with a good all-round game. His ball-handling and passing is very good. He is already probably top 25% in the league at his position in that area. Which adds a lot of value to his game. He has had many games in the playoffs where he has been LAL's best off the dribble threat.

Reaves vs Brogdon

A Reaves vs Brogdon as 3rd option. Brogdon 15ppg 4apg in 28mpg for Boston while Reaves does 15ppg 4apg in 35mpg for LAL. So Brogdon does more in less time. They are both about 57% TS% (all playoff stats) after both being above 60% TS% in the regular season.

Again, an interesting view to look at both players since they are playing somewhat similar roles on their respective teams and getting similar results.

Questions

Would A Reaves be our 3rd option if he were here? Would he be the 4th option behind Brogdon? Or would Reaves and Brogdon have similar offensive roles?

Would Reaves start instead of D White? Or be the main backup SG/SF? How good would Reaves be as the 3rd option behind Jaylen and Tatum in that starting lineup? How good would be BOS offense be with Reaves & Brogdon off the bench as twin offensive engines to support the Jays?

All interesting questions to my mind to wonder about.

[Who]

Reaves to me is another guy who just benefits being in LA and also getting the whistles from the refs

Sort of like Kuzma/Caruso

He'll be like Hauser on most other teams (8th-9th man)

Yeah, I thought the same (Hauser like player) to start the season and still thought this at midseason (having not watched LAL much).

I remember NBA.com put out a highlights tape of A Reaves (which I did not watch) that made me laugh because it was 1 hour long. Who is going to watch an hour long highlights of a bench guy??? Only in LAL would such a bench guy get an hour long highlight tape. Ridiculous, or so I thought at the time.

A Reaves has been winning me over since then. I thought he was just a bench shooter but he has much more to his game than that. He was leading all Lakers players in drives to the basket per game earlier in the playoffs. Ahead of LeBron. Ahead of D Russell. Ahead of Schroder although Schroder is ahead of Reaves on a per-minute basis.

So he had much more shot creation and driving ability than I had given him credit for. Which moves him well ahead of the likes of Hauser. Not just a spot up shooter but a genuine dribble drive threat.

Not only was he able to drive and create midrange and paint opportunities for himself but he was also able to pass at quite a high level. He is averaging 4.3apg in the playoffs which is very good for a secondary ball-handler. LeBron is at 5.3apg. Russell at 5.0apg. Schroder at 2.9apg. So quite a capable passer.

So ball-handling + passing + shot creation with a midrange game + strong outside shooter. That is quite an arsenal. Very impressive offensive package for a role player.

Makes one wonder if he can transition from a high end role player to a low end star / offensive creator. I imagine quite a few GMs around the league are wondering the same thing. Can Reaves do even more than this if he were put in a larger role? Can he become a Gordon Hayward type player with more development? Just how good is he?

Is he a 15-5-4 quasi-creator role player?
A 12-4-4 spot up shooter guy?
Can he become a 17-20ppg 5rpg 5apg low level star?

[hpantazo]

Sheed ripping Doc, says he never made adjustments as a coach, the players on that Celtics team made the adjustments themselves:

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/05/former-celtics-player-rips-doc-rivers-coaching-style-from-time-in-boston.html

[Atzar]

Sheed ripping Doc, says he never made adjustments as a coach, the players on that Celtics team made the adjustments themselves:

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/05/former-celtics-player-rips-doc-rivers-coaching-style-from-time-in-boston.html

I remember Blake had some similar comments earlier in the season, when Al was out and Blake started against the Sixers.  We won that game and Blake hit five threes iirc.  Postgame, Blake sounded off on Doc's inability to make any adjustments. 

Thought it was just trash talk at the time.  Apparently there's some truth to it though.

[Moranis]

Doc sucks.  He always has.  2-faced.  Says one thing does another.  Throws his players under the bus.  But he smiles and is nice to the media so they love him.

[SparzWizard]

Doc sucks.  He always has.  2-faced.  Says one thing does another.  Throws his players under the bus.  But he smiles and is nice to the media so they love him.

To me, it was Tom Thibs and the Big 3 who won us that championship in 2008. Not Flop Rivers.

[Goldstar88]

I really hope he gets it. 

The Bucks are expected to interview Mark Jackson for their vacant head coach position, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports.

[gouki88]

I really hope he gets it. 

The Bucks are expected to interview Mark Jackson for their vacant head coach position, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports.

Oh my goodness that would be good. If they hired Jackson instead of Nurse or Williams, that would be brilliant (and mad!!)

[Who]

Sheed ripping Doc, says he never made adjustments as a coach, the players on that Celtics team made the adjustments themselves:

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/05/former-celtics-player-rips-doc-rivers-coaching-style-from-time-in-boston.html

That was an interesting interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0xrB1CFqcY

Sheed is a Philly guy. I remember him and Wilt when he was High School State player of the year or whatever it was. Sheed described himself as a "die hard 76ers fan". So I was interested to hear his other thoughts on their team.

So the Doc Rivers stuff starts at around 14 minutes in or something like that. Sheed calls Doc some mocking nicknames. Later he says he warned people in Philly that Doc wasn't the answer. He also said he warned them not to draft Ben Simmons. And he was against trading for Harden.

In addition to the comment about Doc not making adjustments, Sheed also said Doc rarely confronts his players. He rarely deals with stuff personally. He usually sends the lead assisstant to do that which Sheed says 9/10 head coaches in the league also do. That league wide most head coaches avoid confrontation. Sheed never liked that about Doc and believes this was bad for Philly. He thought Philly needed someone to get in Embiid's face and send him to the post. Stuff like that.

Sheed only wants to keep 4 guys in Philly - Embiid, Tucker, Montrez Harrell (surprise choice = Sheed thought he should've been used against Rob Williams to match energy) and Maxey (no surprise). So no Harden or T Harris or any of the other bench dudes.

They talked a bit about Boston's two big lineup with Horford as the main defender and Rob Williams as the help defender. They compared it to Sheed and Ben Wallace in Detroit. They did the same thing there; one helper and one man defender. Blames Doc for using Embiid on the elbows which made it easier for zone up on him. Says Embiid should've been on the post. Horford "too small" to defend Embiid inside.

[Donoghus]

Sheed ripping Doc, says he never made adjustments as a coach, the players on that Celtics team made the adjustments themselves:

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/05/former-celtics-player-rips-doc-rivers-coaching-style-from-time-in-boston.html

If Sheed had gotten himself in shape, the Celtics are currently sitting at 18 banners instead of 17.