Doing well without someone I’d consider a top tier NBA player right now

and they also have two genuine budding superstars on their squad. They’re in a great position going forwards.

Mike has always been underappreciated- not that he’s been spectacular under the radar, but that he’s amazing at certain things that are still incredibly valuable in the modern NBA, but not nearly as valued.

PGs these days are valued on their ability to hit the above the break pull up or yam on the defense if that get overplayed, and their ability to survive on defense. Conley is a PG in old school mold- he’s the dude that could have scored 25, but decided to score 15 while keeping his entire team engaged and running hard (because guys like PJ Tucker are few and far between- guys who are capable of being elite role player and actually play up that potential whether or not they get the ball).

I’ve been a Pistons fan since they drafted Tayshaun Prince (the perfect championship role player from literally day 1, and for the next decade), and it’s been fucking brutal to watch them go from the greatest defensive, team focused dynasty in the modern era to a team whose most successful draft pick and free agent signing are Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin respectively.

Don’t forget they occasionally turn those first rounders into Stanley Johnson or Killian Hayes.

People really underestimate the value of video games in terms of how many reps they allow for, even if they’re obviously not as high quality as a 5v5 practice. If you’re really working on it, you could go through thousands of reps of the PnR in 2k- again, obviously not the same as the real thing, but definitely enough to get a better understanding of the possible configurations and spacing of variations of the play against different types of defense.

Thib’s problem has always been this kind of short sightedness. He’s seen 13 points in 35 seconds, and he’s also seen his MVP’s career trajectory permanently altered during the closing minutes of a blowout, and he’s seen countless others wear down over the course of a season. Even on a purely tactical level, he’s stunting the development of bench units that could help carry his teams through the regular season and provide key minutes in the playoffs.

He gets so focused on winning the next regular season game that he hurts his teams’ chances at being their most competitive in May and June.

The shooters like Dame/Curry/KD will never lose that shooting touch unless their legs lose power entirely.

A lot depends on how you shoot too.

Yeah, the 3 ball is the only aesthetic part of his game lol

I think his shot is ugly as hell too, with that little tiny hop and wrist flick.

but what is impressive is the mobility and fluidity with the ball in his hands from Bagley.

Honestly, I felt the opposite. For a guy whose only real strengths are explosiveness and going left, that was shockingly slow and clunky.

His handle was pretty good imo, and he was starting to come into his own as a passer and playmaker before he went to the Nets. I think playing with Kidd stifled his development as an offensive initiator (though on the other hand, it allowed him to really focus on his 3 point shooting), which, combined with knee/ankle injuries, prevented him from reaching the same heights as some of his contemporaries.