there's a lot of negative things we could talk about with the golden state warriors right now. they've started the season with a 3-7 record. klay thompson and jordan poole are awful defenders. james wiseman seems to be horrific at every facet of nba basketball.
note: wiseman has been really, really bad. the more he plays, the more i think bob myers is secretly trying to tank for victor wembanyama to build yet another super team. just kidding. in all seriousness though, james is still 21 and he's only played 52 legitimate basketball games in 3 years - i'm not giving up on him yet.
but my favorite story is the ascension of ty jerome. i've been impressed by his patience, intelligence, and skillset this year.
one play that stood out to me was this off-ball cut and dime against the orlando magic:
it's just perfect off-ball movement. let's break it down.
steph curry starts his little dance with the ball, iso-ed against r. j. hampton. notice how instead of simply standing still and watching steph, ty starts to set a screen for klay:
right here, klay plants his right foot to sprint to the corner, where he'd likely be wide open thanks to ty's screen:
but watch jalen suggs while this is happening. he takes two quick glances at ty (his man) and klay (franz wagner's man). on the second glance, he determines that ty and klay are both in the same spot on the floor and that they pose no threat because franz can effectively guard both of them at once. so he immediately leaves to double team steph:
the timing of the double team is pretty much perfect. steph is forced to pull the ball back out to buy some more time and re-evaluate the situation. look at this freeze frame again - there's really nowhere to go with the ball:
which is why ty's cut into the paint is so lovely. it's the best possible counter to jalen's double team, and he makes the read instantaneously to go from setting a pick to flashing in the middle of the court and giving steph a release valve:
then to top it all off, he doesn't panic once he catches the pass. it's so easy for most players in this situation to try and rush a shot over or around the rotating wendell carter jr.:
but ty reads the rotation before it happens and drops off a sick dime to kevon looney:
beautiful basketball.
random thoughts:
- i'm going to be watching a lot of anfernee simons this year. a few months ago, i noted that ant was putting it together;Â this season, i'm expecting him to "arrive". the reason i'm so high on ant isn't just because of his advanced skillset and eerily-calm demeanor. he simply has physical gifts that most of his young peers at the combo guard position don't have - he's now 6'5" with a 6'9" wingspan and a 45+ inch vertical. his ceiling is ridiculous.
- tyrese maxey might be the first of his kind. i've literally never seen anyone with his physical attributes (speed and quickness) that could also shoot really well from deep. think of all the fastest guys - allen iverson, tony parker, derrick rose, russell westbrook, john wall, de'aaron fox - none of them could shoot from range. it might be unprecedented.
- shai gilgeous-alexander is really fucking good. he's another guy that just moves differently than most people do - i'm not sure how to describe it... he sort of slithers? he’s never not under control, his footwork is excellent, and he’s just so crafty with how he can use pace and angles to his advantage.
- things might still be pretty grim for the los angeles lakers this season, but i watched every minute of their overtime win against the new orleans pelicans a few days ago and this is the best russell westbrook has looked in a long time (coming off the bench, no less). the lal home crowd also cheered for him a lot. good for russ.
- my favorite rosters this season are the pelicans and the cleveland cavaliers. both really talented, deep squads. a young player to watch: trey murphy iii.
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