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I hope so. Against the Spurs and Wolves, there wasn’t much room for his slashing game, so he spent a lot of time drifting around the corners without much purpose. Playing with Key and Lauri opens up his game, but he definitely needs more tools to be impactful.

Here are my two cents: - Our half-court defense was, for the most part, pretty solid. We let them run in the first quarter even after made baskets, and in the third quarter both the offense and defense fell apart when Nurk was on the bench. Outside of that, good stuff. - Great game from Ace...

The biggest obstacles to him becoming an elite defender are on the mental side. He’s timid and rarely plays on instinct. There’s a chance he never overcomes these hurdles and never becomes a real NBA-player. That said, I don’t believe every good defender needs to have that dawg mentality at the...

NBA roster in general, yes. I just think it’s different with contenders. Guys like Brice can help in the regular season and early playoff rounds giving stars some rest, but the deeper you go, the more conditional that role gets. If he can’t survive against elite offenses, his ceiling is more of...

First of all, I agree that talent identification is the most important factor, but in practice it is extremely difficult to separate identifying talent from developing it. I don’t think there are clear answers or reliable metrics that allow us to determine when successful development...

We also just watched Brice Sensabaugh go 43/5/2 against the Bulls in Chicago. You chose to remain silent because it didn't fit your narrative.

Thank you, you pretty much perfectly put into words what I was trying to describe about Cody and Key in the other topic.

I don't think there's a single development path that works for every player. And since we don't have alternative realities to compare it to, this is more of a matter of opinion and hunch. So here is my hunch: rather than force feeding minutes, the quality reps matter more. For example, Cody's...

I don't really get the point you are trying to make, but it must something really smart.

One limited way to evaluate a young player’s development is to rely purely on box score stats. I tend to place more value on whether he consistently tries to make the right plays and has the physical tools to support that. I’ve been more optimistic than most about Cody, but the Charlotte game...

Sure. As I mentioned: "Lauri started the game well, picking up all four of his assists early". During the second half he in fact wasn't constantly looking to kick it out. I agree with the youth. I’m thrilled to get Ace back because watching a young core where Cody has the highest ceiling after...

Lauri started the game well, picking up all four of his assists early. At that point, it felt like the blueprint for a dominant offensive night was right there: attack the rim decisively, but also slow the game down when needed and find cutters and shooters when the defense collapsed. Boston did...

Key, Lauri, and Ace all benefit a ton from playing with an elite screening big like Nurkic. That’s the main reason I’m skeptical of Taylor playing any minutes as a small ball center.

Stocks will follow when (or if) he gets more comfortable out there. It feels like he makes the correct read but doesn’t fully commit, likely to avoid taking any risks. I have really low expectations for his rebounding stats, but on the flip side he’s always boxing out.

What a defensive masterclass from Boston, and especially Derrick White, against Lauri. Boston took away all the threes and dunks and was willing to give him space in the midrange. White kept chasing Lauri around screens and was more than happy to trail him, baiting him into taking those jumpers...

You’re right. I just think his defensive ceiling is much higher than Tech’s or Harkless’s. Because of his combination of lateral quickness and length, he can fall a full step behind and still recover on the ball handler with ease. Unlike Tech, he could take more risks without getting burned, and...

I don’t really care about the alley-oop or the transition layups he made. He’s on his way to becoming a very solid perimeter defender, and we absolutely lack players like that. He rarely gets beaten off the dribble. Unlike most of the other young guys on the roster, he stays locked in...

Pistons’ half-court offense is just rough to watch. We gave them plenty of chances to win, but they just couldn’t capitalize. Probably the best all-around game from Brice that I’ve seen. Strong defensive effort, active on the offensive glass, and multiple second efforts that won us extra...

It's hard to even describe how awful Paolo was in the last 15 minutes, but on the other hand, Ace completely shut him down. Great game and perfect loss!

I definitely agree. I wasn’t trying to imply that Draymond needs non-disruptive players around him. My point was more that when the Warriors were a top-three defense year after year, Draymond was surrounded by high-IQ defenders who could adjust on the fly, make the correct rotations, and...