Watching Giannis and Ben is like watching town twins both with unheard of physical gift who took different paths. As you see Giannis take three after three without a care of how it looks the level of mental fortitude to win is through the roof then you have ahis lesser twin in Ben Simmons do everything he can to avoid embarrassment. One plays to win without fear and the other plays not to lose.
Ben Simmons doesn’t even look at the basket , it’s so dam frustrating ! Even when they’re in a fast break I just want him to attack the dam rim. Their is times when all he has is a smaller defender between him and the rim and he doesn’t even think about attacking. Shit is annoying!
Here’s an interesting contract question for Doug and Adam: Cam Thomas, I believe come this summer will become extension eligible meaning the Nets can rip up his options and sign him to a long-term deal since he was a first round pick in the 2021 draft. I believe the sons did that with Mikal Bridges, which is why his contract is so team friendly.
Assuming Cam Thomas continues on the trajectory that he is how much money is he making for himself and do the Nets need to consider extending him this summer early in hopes of getting a team friendly type deal?
Giannis can foul anytime that he wants at the end of the game and never gets a call. He clearly fouled Dorian Finney Smith three times under the basket on the shot that would’ve tied the game and on that last a Cam Thomas layup, Gianni’s had one hand on the top of Thomas’s leg, trying to hold him down, and he hit Thomas’s hand when he blocked the ball.
Spencer, dinwiddie and DSJ is still playing hurt – team looks great. They still trying to figure it out and they already do this good so when they do figure it out plus the defense they should be a pretty good team
Claxton would have gotten bullied to hell by Lopez portis or giannis tonight. Twig who is too skinny..simmons did am incredible job on giannis and cam thomas wow. Just too many missed 3s. Rather see Watford in there a bit if DFS has an off night. Great game overall . No complaints otherwise. Perhaps some more sharpe in the 2nd half
Always a good discussion but as usual some wacky opinions from Adam and Doug. Comparing prime Dame taking the Blazers to the WCF to a 22 year old Cam Thomas who is seven games into his third season is wild. Cam played ten less games in season two than he did as a rookie on very inconsistent minutes. Does Cam need to expand his game? Yes! But Cam has had such limited minutes it's ridiculous to compare Cam to basically anyone. He's still started way less than 20 games in his career!
Ben Simmons defense was terrible this game. Almost every bucket was his fault when he was on the court. He doesn’t help out on the boards as well he literally just out there watching
I get cam needs to do more in terms of playmaking but compare him to bradley beal, donovan mitchell , even dame lillard and he's all outperforming them at age of 22. Let's just enjoy the ride and see how good he can become. On other fronts im almost out on ben simmons completely. I get what he adds in terms of rebounding and pace pusher but he simply has no half court offense and he cannot protect the rim. Im still on the path of keeping clax long term and trade ben next summer when his contract has value bc of the expiring
As always, thank you for the podcast, greatly appreciated. I'd categorize this episode as highly entertaining. The discussions seem to contrast with prior conversations, and I apologize in advance for posting in segments to highlight these points. But first, let's compare Cam Thomas to Mikal Bridges across various categories to see how they measure up against each other:
If Cam Thomas excels in just one area and his stats compare favorably to Bridges in many categories, what does this suggest about our marquee player, Bridges, who was expected to be a Most Improved Player (MIP) or All-Star?
Cam is obviously an amazing shooter but he’s way too selfish and you can see how the other players know it. Nets kinda stop when Cam gets ball cause they know he’s not gonna pass.
@41 min mark. Doug I disagree. Teams are game planning for him. Atleast Miami did. But I do agree that this win loss stat based on how much he scores is foolish. He is a bucket and he just needs time to get that outta his system then he will evolve. Like spida, Ant, etc. They had to get the shooting out and then they realized I need to help my teammates get easier shots. But they got alot of playing time. This is killa cam coming out tour. Give him 2 years. He will start avg about 4-6 ast.
Segment#2: Adam had one of the best quotes of the Podcast: he said "It's probably going to come down to MOMENTS and SITUATIONAL defense".
*Moments – Brook Lopez double back tap offensive rebounds. The Pod has frowned on having at least one traditional big on the roster. Then proceeds to point out that we lost the rebounding battle by 2 so there you have it. Brook's chances decrease with a big body boxing him out.
* Moments – DSF blowing a beautiful outlet pass with Giannis on his back. You go up strong and live with the consequences.
*Moments – JV opts to go with DSJ over Dinwiddie when Dinwiddie has a history of hitting big shots in key moments regardless of whether he's struggling or not.
*Moments – Giannis destroyed Ben Simmons on the offensive end 36-2. Can someone attach the timestamp of when this was even discussed in the Podcast? I must've missed it.
* Situational Defense – Giannis blowing by Ben Simmons albeit an offensive foul for a dunk. Instead of Ben complaining to the ref why not wrap him up and send him to the line? Was this even discussed?
In segment #3, I found Doug's flailing attempt to draw a comparison between Dame Lillard's early career and Cam Thomas's early career quite entertaining, even when Adam tried to throw Doug a lifeline he refused it and kept pushing forward, particularly regarding their impact on winning games. In the 2009-2010 season, with a team consisting of Aldridge, Batum, and Brandon Roy, the Blazers achieved a 50-32 record. The following season, in 2010-11, the same core team managed a 48-34 record. However, in 2011-12, their performance dipped to 28-38, primarily because Brandon Roy did not play that season. The pivotal moment arrived in 2012-13 when the Blazers acquired Dame thanks to the Nets trading them their pick for Gerald Wallace. Dame walked into a team that retained its core from previous successful seasons, effectively stepping into Brandon Roy's role. LaMarcus Aldridge, Nic Batum, and Wesley Mathews were still part of the team. Dame's first season as a starter saw the Blazers finish with a 33-49 record. In 2013-14, the Blazers made a significant leap, posting a 54-28 record, and they also drafted CJ McCollum. It's worth noting that the Blazers had Allen Crabbe, who was on the rise at the time. Dame had played 82 games, accumulating 164 games of experience as a starter in his first two years. By 2014-15, Dame's third year, the Blazers achieved a 51-31 record, with the core pieces remaining intact and CJ McCollum making progress. Cam Thomas is currently in his third year, akin to Dame's third year in the league. The question arises: Can we honestly say that the start of Cam Thomas's career aligns with Lillard's? Do the continuity and stability Dame had during those initial years match the volatility seen in Cam Thomas's first two years? Dame Lillard, in his first three years, started a total of 246 games, which increased the likelihood of game-winners. Moreover, joining a winning core allowed him to build upon the legacy of the previous superstar, Brandon Roy. Rather than searching for faults, why not appreciate what Cam Thomas is accomplishing? Some Nets fans even consider trading for Zach LaVine, who earns $43 million per season, despite his recent performance of 51 points and zero assists.
20 Comments
Watching Giannis and Ben is like watching town twins both with unheard of physical gift who took different paths. As you see Giannis take three after three without a care of how it looks the level of mental fortitude to win is through the roof then you have ahis lesser twin in Ben Simmons do everything he can to avoid embarrassment. One plays to win without fear and the other plays not to lose.
Ben Simmons doesn’t even look at the basket , it’s so dam frustrating ! Even when they’re in a fast break I just want him to attack the dam rim. Their is times when all he has is a smaller defender between him and the rim and he doesn’t even think about attacking. Shit is annoying!
Here’s an interesting contract question for Doug and Adam: Cam Thomas, I believe come this summer will become extension eligible meaning the Nets can rip up his options and sign him to a long-term deal since he was a first round pick in the 2021 draft. I believe the sons did that with Mikal Bridges, which is why his contract is so team friendly.
Assuming Cam Thomas continues on the trajectory that he is how much money is he making for himself and do the Nets need to consider extending him this summer early in hopes of getting a team friendly type deal?
Giannis can foul anytime that he wants at the end of the game and never gets a call. He clearly fouled Dorian Finney Smith three times under the basket on the shot that would’ve tied the game and on that last a Cam Thomas layup, Gianni’s had one hand on the top of Thomas’s leg, trying to hold him down, and he hit Thomas’s hand when he blocked the ball.
Spencer, dinwiddie and DSJ is still playing hurt – team looks great. They still trying to figure it out and they already do this good so when they do figure it out plus the defense they should be a pretty good team
Claxton would have gotten bullied to hell by Lopez portis or giannis tonight. Twig who is too skinny..simmons did am incredible job on giannis and cam thomas wow. Just too many missed 3s. Rather see Watford in there a bit if DFS has an off night. Great game overall . No complaints otherwise. Perhaps some more sharpe in the 2nd half
The defense on giannis from Ben was other worldly. Plus his rebounding was incredible.
spence shot was off i think they sat him cuz he was missing even missed couple that were wide open
Can we play Watford more, Royce is in a shooting slump
Always a good discussion but as usual some wacky opinions from Adam and Doug. Comparing prime Dame taking the Blazers to the WCF to a 22 year old Cam Thomas who is seven games into his third season is wild. Cam played ten less games in season two than he did as a rookie on very inconsistent minutes. Does Cam need to expand his game? Yes! But Cam has had such limited minutes it's ridiculous to compare Cam to basically anyone. He's still started way less than 20 games in his career!
Ben Simmons defense was terrible this game. Almost every bucket was his fault when he was on the court. He doesn’t help out on the boards as well he literally just out there watching
I get cam needs to do more in terms of playmaking but compare him to bradley beal, donovan mitchell , even dame lillard and he's all outperforming them at age of 22. Let's just enjoy the ride and see how good he can become. On other fronts im almost out on ben simmons completely. I get what he adds in terms of rebounding and pace pusher but he simply has no half court offense and he cannot protect the rim. Im still on the path of keeping clax long term and trade ben next summer when his contract has value bc of the expiring
It’s crazy how our offense is better than our defense lol
As always, thank you for the podcast, greatly appreciated. I'd categorize this episode as highly entertaining. The discussions seem to contrast with prior conversations, and I apologize in advance for posting in segments to highlight these points. But first, let's compare Cam Thomas to Mikal Bridges across various categories to see how they measure up against each other:
– PPG: CT 28.7, MB 21.9 (Cam)
– RBS: CT 4.0, MB 5.3 (Bridges)
– AST: CT 2.4, MB 3.9 (Bridges)
– STL: CT 1.0, MB 0.9 (Cam)
– BLK: CT 0.6, MB 0.4 (Cam)
– FG%: CT .483, MB .483 (Tied)
– 3P%: CT .333, MB .326 (Cam)
– FT%: CT .844, MB .900 (Bridges)
– eFG%: CT .540, MB .543 (Bridges)
– BPM: CT 1.3, MB -0.2 (Cam)
– VORP: CT 0.2, MB 0.1 (Cam)
– FTA: CT 6.4, MB 4.3+ (Cam)
– D-RTG: CT 118, MB 118, Ben 118
If Cam Thomas excels in just one area and his stats compare favorably to Bridges in many categories, what does this suggest about our marquee player, Bridges, who was expected to be a Most Improved Player (MIP) or All-Star?
Cam is obviously an amazing shooter but he’s way too selfish and you can see how the other players know it. Nets kinda stop when Cam gets ball cause they know he’s not gonna pass.
@41 min mark. Doug I disagree. Teams are game planning for him. Atleast Miami did. But I do agree that this win loss stat based on how much he scores is foolish. He is a bucket and he just needs time to get that outta his system then he will evolve. Like spida, Ant, etc. They had to get the shooting out and then they realized I need to help my teammates get easier shots. But they got alot of playing time. This is killa cam coming out tour. Give him 2 years. He will start avg about 4-6 ast.
Segment#2:
Adam had one of the best quotes of the Podcast: he said "It's probably going to come down to MOMENTS and SITUATIONAL defense".
*Moments – Brook Lopez double back tap offensive rebounds. The Pod has frowned on having at least one traditional big on the roster. Then proceeds to point out that we lost the rebounding battle by 2 so there you have it. Brook's chances decrease with a big body boxing him out.
* Moments – DSF blowing a beautiful outlet pass with Giannis on his back. You go up strong and live with the consequences.
*Moments – JV opts to go with DSJ over Dinwiddie when Dinwiddie has a history of hitting big shots in key moments regardless of whether he's struggling or not.
*Moments – Giannis destroyed Ben Simmons on the offensive end 36-2. Can someone attach the timestamp of when this was even discussed in the Podcast? I must've missed it.
* Situational Defense – Giannis blowing by Ben Simmons albeit an offensive foul for a dunk. Instead of Ben complaining to the ref why not wrap him up and send him to the line? Was this even discussed?
Simmons, Royce & bridges are the worst defenders on the team
Dennis is not good enough, its frustrating that we cant close a single game
In segment #3, I found Doug's flailing attempt to draw a comparison between Dame Lillard's early career and Cam Thomas's early career quite entertaining, even when Adam tried to throw Doug a lifeline he refused it and kept pushing forward, particularly regarding their impact on winning games. In the 2009-2010 season, with a team consisting of Aldridge, Batum, and Brandon Roy, the Blazers achieved a 50-32 record. The following season, in 2010-11, the same core team managed a 48-34 record. However, in 2011-12, their performance dipped to 28-38, primarily because Brandon Roy did not play that season. The pivotal moment arrived in 2012-13 when the Blazers acquired Dame thanks to the Nets trading them their pick for Gerald Wallace. Dame walked into a team that retained its core from previous successful seasons, effectively stepping into Brandon Roy's role. LaMarcus Aldridge, Nic Batum, and Wesley Mathews were still part of the team. Dame's first season as a starter saw the Blazers finish with a 33-49 record. In 2013-14, the Blazers made a significant leap, posting a 54-28 record, and they also drafted CJ McCollum. It's worth noting that the Blazers had Allen Crabbe, who was on the rise at the time. Dame had played 82 games, accumulating 164 games of experience as a starter in his first two years. By 2014-15, Dame's third year, the Blazers achieved a 51-31 record, with the core pieces remaining intact and CJ McCollum making progress. Cam Thomas is currently in his third year, akin to Dame's third year in the league. The question arises: Can we honestly say that the start of Cam Thomas's career aligns with Lillard's? Do the continuity and stability Dame had during those initial years match the volatility seen in Cam Thomas's first two years? Dame Lillard, in his first three years, started a total of 246 games, which increased the likelihood of game-winners. Moreover, joining a winning core allowed him to build upon the legacy of the previous superstar, Brandon Roy. Rather than searching for faults, why not appreciate what Cam Thomas is accomplishing? Some Nets fans even consider trading for Zach LaVine, who earns $43 million per season, despite his recent performance of 51 points and zero assists.