ooofā¦ not a good game for Hunter tonightā¦
1 Like
Not a UVa playerā¦ but Boban missed his second FT on purpose to give the Clippers fans free chicken in the Chick Fil A Brickinā for Chickinā promotion. 
Dunn will be telling fans that is what he is doing too. 
5 Likes
Hate to say it but this doesnāt help his NBA reputation. Heās now on a lot of bad contracts lists etc and everything.. I think he needs a change of scenery desperately
1 Like
As a Sixers fan, it was not enjoyable watching them bonk their heads against that zone over and over again in the first half. But they got there.
3 Likes
He was really bad. 10 mins I saw last night during my flight he was slow and not explosize. Seemed disengaged. Huge bummer.
2 Likes
Was legitimately the most frustrating half of Sixers basketball I think Iāve ever watched, which is saying something especially considering the last few years
1 Like
Unfortunately those murmurs about Dre being a bad contract are pretty accurate. If Dre wasnāt a Virginia guy Iād be dragging him as a potential bust pick. At least for the price tag he has commanded. Iām still holding out hope that his performance is more a result of playing in Atl in a busted system but even with a change of scenery itās tough to justify the money he earns.
5 Likes
I donāt know. He scored 16 points and grabbed 4 rebounds a game this year in 30 minutes, shot 39% from three and 46% overall. Those are solid numbers.
I can understand thinking you should get more from a No. 4 draft pick. On the other hand, heās well out-performing R.J. Barrett, the guy who got picked ahead of him. And has fewer suspensions than the No. 2 pick and played more games than the No. 1 pick.
6 Likes
Is he? I havenāt watched a single Barrett game in the last two years but Barrett has better numbers
1 Like
Thatās the tricky part. Itās not that Dreās bad. His stats are solid but at 4yrs 90 million thatās a lot of cash locked into a player who is mid-level and who should be the No2 or No3 on the team. Heās too good to flat out cut, but not good enough to get true value in return.
As far as what a team wants yes Ja (who Iām not a fan of cause of his off the court) has been out all year, but you canāt tell me Dre has out performed him both on and off the court with the economy he has brought to Memphis.
Similar for McDouble Sandwich Williamson, he got himself in shape for the second half of this season and has played well and again the economy heās brought to Pels has been great (although Iād argue they should have moved him rather than extend him).
RJ Barret Stats this year
20ppg 48.8%FG 36.1% 3FG 5.3 Boards and 3.2 ast
Dre
15.6 ppg 55%FG 38.5%PG 3.9boards and 1.5 ast
You could read that as Dre outperforming RJ based on system and what heās asked to do and shooting percentages. But Barrett had a monster 2nd half of the year after he went to Toronto when he shot 55% and 39%.
Iād call it a wash between the two maybe a slight edge to RJ in his new setting and the impact he has on the floor compared to Dre. Zooming out the kicker for me might be games played. The most Dre has ever played is 67 in 22/23. Other than that he averages about 55ish games a year compared to RJ who averages over 63
2 Likes
Yeah, I watch more NBA than college, and unfortunately I wouldnāt take Dre over any of the 3 guys drafted ahead of him.
2 Likes
All the more reason in my mind to want to see Dre on another team to see if itās the environment thatās holding him back. Atlanta got a lucky path to the ECF in 2021 and has been riding that high since then, and now they look rudderless without any clear path forward with the current core. Unfortunately, Dreās contract is sizeable enough that it might be difficult to trade him but Iād love to see what he can do in another setting
3 Likes
The one thing that Sam Veccinie has noted with Dre is his poor rebounding rate relative to other guys at his position - and definitely relative to guys at his position iwth his size. Noted that he tends to lose focus, disengage from games at time. We saw that lack of assertiveness at time at Virginia (first half of title game).
I think if heād just lived up to his billing on defense he wouldnāt be getting any flack - his scoring has been pretty solid over time and kind of what was expected (high floor / low ceiling).
6 Likes
Thatās the part that concerns me with Dre. Heās a great guy and a hard working but he seemingly has those lapses and I worry they will hold him back from being what we wall hoped he would be. Overall I think youāre right about what we hoped for from Dre, I thought heād be a swiss army knife of a defender bouncing around locking guys down and then cleaning up on the boards doing dirty work and then back that up with reliable 3 point shooting. That 2-3 rebound difference between Dre and RJ is glaring and likely costing Dre 2-3 ppg and a few percentage points on his shot by missing out on higher percentage put backs.
Iām with @wahoo19 and hoping that a change of scenery will help Dre but as the performances like last night pile up I become more doubtful.
4 Likes
R.J. having a bit of a resurgence since going to Toronto. I watched him all the time when he was a Knick. He was not very good.
Knicks are also having a resurgence since R.J. left. Seems like it was just a bad fit for both sides. May be the same situation with Dre.
4 Likes
From the outside looking inā¦certainly no insider perspectiveā¦it looked to me like in his time here, that the tight relationship he had with Kyle, and especially Ty minimized some of that. Both were pretty outspoken and didnāt lack confidence, and helped snap Dre out of some of those in-game mental lapses. We saw it some here, but was usually corrected during the course of a game.
3 Likes
Thatās a really interesting point and I think there may be some truth to it. Being comfortable in your environment can make a massive difference in performance. The welcome RJ Barrett got when he returned to Canada was massive and I think it reflected in his performance on the court.
3 Likes
And thats a great point. You get like 1 week in NYC. Canada give you all year
4 Likes
Toronto is a very fun town - although itās not NYC.
If anyone is every in Toronto and wants a bar recommendation - go to civil liberties
3 Likes