thecampster

48. Clint Capela, Atlanta Hawks (Previous rank: 69) The Hawks center successfully reprised the gig he performed in Houston alongside James Harden, serving as a devastating lob finisher and a defensive backbone. His contributions on D—particularly without stud wing defender De’Andre Hunter—were widely overlooked. But Capela held opponents more than 10 percentage points beneath their averages when shooting around the rim. — CH 17. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks (Previous rank: 29) Young’s leap—from No. 29 last year—is about what you’d expect for someone like the diminutive guard, who already had one of the best offensive games in the league, having ranked among the NBA’s top five in scoring and assist average in 2020. With the league cracking down on foul-seeking efforts, Young will have to pick his spots a bit more. Still, he’ll remain one of the hardest scorers for defenders to stop. — CH Notables: Luka rated 5th ahead of Harden and Embiid. Snubbed: Huerter/Reddish.

Now you are much more versed in this than any of us but I'm reading some bias in your speech there (not a critical statement). Would you say that's informed bias or societal bias coming out? Would you see it 100% the same way if it was either A) a same sex case of 2 consenting adults B) a female boss, male subordinate. Again, not trying to say anything but curious about your opinion on this related to something not board related.

I'm just a guy on the internet so take this with a grain of salt. The team has been (and this is not hyperbole) overjoyed with the work put in so far by Jalen and Sharife. The inside buzz is they had their best draft in the TS era and that's saying something. They feel both players are way ahead of their draft slot and maturity. They feel both players will be consistent contributors by the end of their rookie contract and that's saying a lot when you consider the players in front of them on the depth chart. The buzz is the Cooper is digesting material, learning reads and picking up....wait for it....defensive assignments, mechanics far above what they hoped for. JJ's work ethic coming in has calmed everyone's fears about his commitment and work ethic. The team is most impressed with his balance and core strength for a player his size, age. They feel they got the steals of the draft and are very impressed with the BBIQ from both players. Take that for whatever its worth. But on to Cam Reddish. See the clip :26 - :45 and you can see the work that was put into Cam's body since just last training camp. You can see he's in the gym, working on his game and body.

What you have to remember @NBASupes is that people's memories are very short when it comes to star NBA players. Joe Johnson is a great example of that. They remember 2006, 25 ppg, 4.2/4.4. What they don't remember is Joe's first 3 seasons in the league at ages 20-22 as a Celtic and Sun. Joe averaged 6.3, 9.6, 9.8 PPG his first 3 seasons in the league while getting about 27 minutes per game. His rebounds and assists were pretty close at about 3.3/2.8 per game. But Joe shot about 41.5% in his first 3 seasons and about 33% from 3. It took him time to develop just like everyone else. Expecting Cam out of the gate to be lights out was a nice dream and even you and I bumped heads about it. This was the year I originally said Cam would start putting it all together. Most people are seeing those 1st 2 years and feeling as though that's his ceiling. IMHO, Cam is just now starting to figure things out and starting to realize the work required to reach his potential. It would be foolish to give up on him now. Give people time, they'll come around and forget all about this nasty trade Cam nonsense in 3 years.

I got no quarrels.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam I can't say such a thing exists but there's porn for everything else so I was just making assumptions.

Sorry let me tuck that back in. My anti SI bias was showing.

I may steal that. That's a real good way to say that.

That's fair. I know the opinion of the league is Clint's numbers are inflated playing with Trae (both scoring and offensive rebounding). Trae draws a crowd and that creates lots of opportunities for Clint that any athletic big would get too (see Collins' drop in numbers when Clint took over the 5). No one says he's bad, just a bit inflated.

I'm not sure sacred cow but unrealistic. Especially defensively, Jalen has a long way to go. He'll play the 4 more than anything and he's 19. these are grown ass men out there. Imagine Gallo backing down Jalen. The kid is strong but Gallo tossing his butt out or a Julius Randle elbow might send him into the front row. You saw the benefit a few pounds and footwork made for Huerter last year. Jalen needs that same patience. He's got to develop that muscle memory. So as good as he looked offensively, these pro types are going to eat him alive at the defensive end (much like what happened to Okafor). That alone will keep others in front of him on principal.

Yah, like I said I'm not sold on it but I don't feel strongly enough to say "Oh Hells Nah!". Clint looked bad in the Conference Finals and that's probably the first time the good folks over at SI watched him all year. That said, they probably stat watched and know he was tops in rebounds so its a toss up. Not something I'm willing to give up my stupid avatar for. I'll save that for our bet over Spud giving up Gundam porn.

Floors and Ceilings are a tough conversation. Hunter's ceiling is not much higher than he showed in the beginning of last year. Best case scenario, he's a 20 ppg/7/4 player with great defense. Worst case is he's a 12/5/2 player. The gap between best and worst case for him is much more narrow than Cam. Worst case for Cam is closer to 10/5/1 but best case is 25/8/4. Ceiling Cam is better than Ceiling Hunter due to better drive, dish, scoring potential. But Cam is less developed, harder to harness. Jalen's floor is very similar to Cam but his ceiling is really an unknown and if I had to guess its closer to 27/10/5. That's a ceiling, a potential. Don't everyone go nuts. JJ needs a lot more development than both Cam/Hunter and will take 2 years to start sniffing his potential. But of all 3 he's got the best body and best skills at 19. It means a hill of beans but its a thing. If all 3 came out this year and all 3 played a single season of college basketball (all 30 games), Jalen goes #1, Cam goes 5, Hunter goes 8 or 10 ish....but that's not how it played out. Hunter came out after a few seasons, Cam 1 season 2 years ago and is a better known product, Jalen now with limited film. Jalen's ceiling is highest but floor is lowest (although I would guess least likely). IMHO, Jalen ends up the best of the group but I could just as easily be wrong. 4 years from now they'll probably be rated JJ tops, Cam 2nd, Hunter 3rd and it'll be such a tight grouping if all on the same team it won't matter. If JJ reaches his defensive potential, I'd never want to play against those 3 on the floor at the same time. It would be madness.

I'm not sold they're putting Clint up there. He's not a scorer and has limitations. Can't shoot, can't hit free throws. He rebounds like a mother but sites like SI don't always value that. They should, don't get me wrong, but they might not. If anything he'll fall in 40-50.

So next 20 were released today but need insider access. If anyone has access to the article if you can post today before its free tomorrow, that would be great.

OMFG I love that.

https://www.si.com/nba/2021/09/20/ranking-best-nba-players-top-100-2022 100 - 50 (49-30 Tuesday). Discuss 64. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Atlanta Hawks (Previous year rank: 76) Bogdanovic is a swiss-army-knife piece who can fill any hole in Atlanta’s attack. He shot 45.5% from three after March 1, and he’s a crafty and physical attacker off the bounce when teams (rightfully) attempt to sprint him off the line. Bogdanovic placed a scare into the Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals, tallying 68 points in his final three games on 15-35 from three. The Hawks don’t necessarily have to be the Trae Young Show to win in the postseason. A hot stretch from his backcourt partner could very well swing a series next spring. — MS 56. De’Andre Hunter, Atlanta Hawks (Previous rank: NR) Living up to his billing as a high-floor draft pick, the 23-year-old Hunter has rapidly emerged as a valuable supporting piece in Atlanta, capable of defending all over the perimeter and knocking down jumpers on the other end. He appeared in just 23 games last year due to a nagging knee issue, but looked like the Hawks’ second-best player preinjury, showing off vastly improved shot-creation skills. A proper, full-season jump in production could be on the table. — JW 54. John Collins, Atlanta Hawks (Previous year rank: 59) Collins is one of just a few big men who live above the rim, confidently drill above-the-break threes and are willing to harness their athletic gifts in the trenches, setting screens and crashing the boards. As an all-around offensive exclamation point, an All-Star berth may be in Collins’s future, particularly if the Hawks continue on the track they found late last year. — MP

That's a bold move Cotton. Let's see how it works out!

Could you imagine having to bang with 7'4, 275 Mark Eaton for 35 minutes per night? Eaton guarding Kareem.

For me the limitations on Okafor are his limited help defense and inability to guard a stretch big. He would have been pretty good in the 90's but as soon as big men started shooting 3's he was fighting an uphill battle. As a reserve today, he has a ton of upside but he's got a little Bruno in him (slow reaction times). That could have been really helped by the game of the 80's 90's but its still a limitation. I agree, very good but not dominant. Also, centers were bigger then. His post game would have had to deal with pretty much every team having a 7 footer going 250 to contend with. I mean would he be a better scoring post center than Ewing, Robinson or Olajuwon? I would venture not.

I've covered this a few times. Its a balance between if we seem like contenders or pretenders. If pretenders, he's dumped to a contender at the deadline and Jalen is allowed to develop. If contenders and he's contributing at a high level, we hold him until the end of the season and move him in the off-season. I have a caveat, much depend on Okafor and Jalen. If those 2 seem capable of producing right out of the shoot, Gallo could be moved for a full expiring before the season starts. Either way, I don't see a future with Gallo on the team this time next year. There is no way to sign everyone without it.

If he stays, Clint might be the perfect defensive mentor for him because everything he does poorly on defense, Clint does well. If Clint had his body he'd be all NBA.

If that happens we had to have had one hell of a month.

Props to Hazer for being a trailblazer. If Coop takes over #2, it means he's just a step behind Trae and we're scaring the hell out of everyone. Dare to dream.

Mistakes were made!

Put yourself on record. They can't be easy like "Trae averages at least 25/9". These are testing your powers of foresight. 3 things you think will happen. (1st prize is my autographed photo of @Spud2nique and @kg01's karaoke duet of Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend circa 2016 at the Hawksquawk Christmas party). Here's my offering: 1. Cam Reddish moves into the starting lineup on the regular (If you're the head coach and Reddish is out playing either Bogie or Hunter, do you still have him coming off the bench?) 2. Gallo and 1 wing find a new home by the trading deadline (I can't see us not packaging them for a star at this point). 3. Trae Young or Nate McMillan receives an ejection within the first 20 games due to the new foul hunting focus. (if I'm Nate, I'm protecting my superstar on the first borderline BS call).