In spite of his recent struggles, Deuce has shown enough in the last couple of seasons to be included in a big offseason trade. I have no idea what the deal will be, but a big trade is coming IMO. No way the FO stands pat.

If Kolek is able to move up the rotation its because he outplayed Payne at some point or his game surges in the off-season but he will still have to prove himself. Not in summer league, but in camp next season.

Paired with Mitch we might be able to get a nice asset because his contract is a great bargain. But we also need that!
As for both, we got one more game to close this out then the real litmus test comes vs. Boston. We need them both to play up and make an impact. Same for any knick that enters the game!!!!

Chandler wrote:back to the original topic. Deuce has had a tough year and right now has been mostly a dud

he seems more interested in making sure his headband and hairdo are jus so (and they do look good). BUT he's half the player of last year and needs to get it going

I think people got deuce all confused on how he impacts this team. He’s one of the top PG defenders in the league period. His jumper is icing on his defensive cake, which comes extremely cheap compared to others in his class. He’s not going anywhere unless he demands a trade.

He’s also a combo guard vs kolek is a pure PG. Deuce will be fine as Thibs utility knife. Hes tied to Thibs hip like a cheap yet reliable belt.

I’m not worried about his offense. I only worry if his defense falls off which it hasn’t. He’s a hard worker and I trust he will fix whatever is needed to be fixed.

fishmike wrote:

blkexec wrote:

Chandler wrote:back to the original topic. Deuce has had a tough year and right now has been mostly a dud

he seems more interested in making sure his headband and hairdo are jus so (and they do look good). BUT he's half the player of last year and needs to get it going

I think people got deuce all confused on how he impacts this team. He’s one of the top PG defenders in the league period. His jumper is icing on his defensive cake, which comes extremely cheap compared to others in his class. He’s not going anywhere unless he demands a trade.

He’s also a combo guard vs kolek is a pure PG. Deuce will be fine as Thibs utility knife. Hes tied to Thibs hip like a cheap yet reliable belt.

I’m not worried about his offense. I only worry if his defense falls off which it hasn’t. He’s a hard worker and I trust he will fix whatever is needed to be fixed.

he's not playable in the postseason at his current 26% shooting. That will get you 14 minutes. A 7 minute breather for Josh or Mikal and youre out. If he's hitting shots he's getting 25-30 minutes a night for this team.

Why even have him in the rotation if he’s doing this? Even Shamet would be more effective coming off the bench

Panos wrote:

Our little boy is all grown up!

Great moment

martin wrote:

DLeethal wrote:Deuce and Mitch off the bench proved me wrong. Both guys are disrupters and game changers and mix interchangeably with the starters very well. I see a backup 2 and a backup 5 pretty much locked up for next season. Get a backup 1 and move Josh to bench and get the missing piece for the starters. Then replace Precious with a better depth C.

Your thoughts on that?

I honestly don’t know if it’s a 2 or a 4/5 for the starting lineup. 2 is probably easier than finding the right 4/5 who can defend, rebound, and also hit 3s. I think there’s some flexibility there due to the flexibility of Mikal and OG.

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

DLeethal wrote:Deuce and Mitch off the bench proved me wrong. Both guys are disrupters and game changers and mix interchangeably with the starters very well. I see a backup 2 and a backup 5 pretty much locked up for next season. Get a backup 1 and move Josh to bench and get the missing piece for the starters. Then replace Precious with a better depth C.

Your thoughts on that?

While I might agree, I'm not really sure Thibs WANTS to move Josh to the bench. I think Thibs LOVES Josh and what he does.

I think Thibs loves Josh in the starting lineup right now cause of his style of play is so contrasting to all the others, all of whom lack that outward intensity that he brings. As well, right now Josh also fills in skill gaps that the entire lineup is missing too: secondary ball handling, rebounding, transition play.

Find a player that fills enough of those gaps while adding in 3point perimeter spacing, that’s when you’ll see Josh’s spark plug mentality shine off the bench where he can **** **** up. Josh just turned 30 and has probably a year or 2 that he can handle his current physical workload.

Pacers (TJ) cooked him badly last year and his shot went south as well.

Have to assume he's fully healthy and ready for a big bounce back series this time around.

Pacers are going to be infinitely annoying -- somewhat a clash of styles (can we control Hali is what it really comes down to).