
And TJ is a model human being. Pastner is considered by many to be a d bag.
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That's one difference.gronk4heisman wrote:Difference being McConnell is proving that guy wrong with results. Pastner on the other hand sucks.Puerco wrote:That dude's thing for TJ is like ODogg's thing for Pastner.
I think everyone is outmatched by Westbrook whether they admit it or not. There are some players who just can't be contained and he is one of them.Merkin wrote:But no one will work harder.
I was pretty confident he was going to make it after his 2nd preseason game (his team's third). TJ's third preseason game he started. 10 pts 10 assists, 4 boards and 4 steals. That was probably what sealed the deal. I caught two of his first three preseason games and I think I posted here that TJ looked like the best player on the floor for the 76ers most of the time and it really was true. I chalked that up to his maturity and high basketball IQ and his teammates being light years behind in all that, along with his positive attributes that we knew would translate to the league.Jefe wrote:Unreal. I dont think any of us saw this happening. I wonder how early on his coach knew he was on the roster.
TJ basically signed a 4-year deal this summer. Still is only guaranteed $100k unless he is on the roster January 10th. First three years are non-guaranteed and he could make $2.4 mil with a team option on year four worth a little over $1 mil.midnightx wrote:He is putting up impressive numbers as an undrafted, rookie starter; that cannot be denied. Well done TJ. If he keeps this up, one suspects he will be given a more lucrative contract at the end of the season.
TucsonClip wrote:TJ basically signed a 4-year deal this summer. Still is only guaranteed $100k unless he is on the roster January 10th. First three years are non-guaranteed and he could make $2.4 mil with a team option on year four worth a little over $1 mil.midnightx wrote:He is putting up impressive numbers as an undrafted, rookie starter; that cannot be denied. Well done TJ. If he keeps this up, one suspects he will be given a more lucrative contract at the end of the season.
He wouldnt have been on the roster without that deal. Thats how Philly operates.gronk4heisman wrote:TucsonClip wrote:TJ basically signed a 4-year deal this summer. Still is only guaranteed $100k unless he is on the roster January 10th. First three years are non-guaranteed and he could make $2.4 mil with a team option on year four worth a little over $1 mil.midnightx wrote:He is putting up impressive numbers as an undrafted, rookie starter; that cannot be denied. Well done TJ. If he keeps this up, one suspects he will be given a more lucrative contract at the end of the season.
The way he is playing right now, sounds like he sold himself short.
There are also full highlights on YouTube but I can't embed from my phone.rgdeuce wrote:He was quite popular on twitter last night. Sunk a three and did something called the "dab," which I'm guessing is a new dance move? I am in touch with the younger generations music and slang, but I don't know what that is and quite a few people were going nuts over it and making Vines of the play.
Finished w 13 pts (6-9, 1-3), 7 reb, 6 assists, 4 TO, 2 steals, 1 block, and apparently got into some sort of verbal dispute with Dirk.
He lives in Philadelphia? Actually, he probably lives in some shitty New Jersey ex-urb of Philly, right near where some nuclear power plant dumps its waste and where Jimmy Hoffa was buried.Irish27 wrote:This guy really hates TJ, I wonder what pissed him off?
Camden? As I recall, even Kobe Bryant didn't want to play in or anywhere near Philadelphia because of the incessant criticism.Chicat wrote:He lives in Philadelphia? Actually, he probably lives in some shitty New Jersey ex-urb of Philly, right near where some nuclear power plant dumps its waste and where Jimmy Hoffa was buried.Irish27 wrote:This guy really hates TJ, I wonder what pissed him off?
Well, he was 7-9 last night and he's shooting over 53% for the year....Puerco wrote:TJ is a Steve Nash that can't shoot but can play defense.
Sorry, I meant 3-point shooting. Nash shot 43% for his entire career. One of the things that made him so effective was that his defender needed to be way out on him the entire time he had the ball, which allowed him to get inside the defense in a more leisurely fashion. I don't think TJ has that luxury just now.Chicat wrote:Well, he was 7-9 last night and he's shooting over 53% for the year....Puerco wrote:TJ is a Steve Nash that can't shoot but can play defense.
He can shoot. He just hasn't demonstrated he can drive the lane and finish at the rim yet in the NBA. His mid-range game is outstanding and his three point shooting is respectable enough that defenses are going to have to stop sagging off him outside.
He's actually done a nice job in the restricted area that I have seen, though I have missed probably 3 of his last 4 games. Couldn't find an up to date shot chart, but in this one which seems to be about 4-5 games old or so, he is 9-13 in the restricted area, and I can attest that one of those was a blocked shot and the other an altered shot, both when help defenders came to contest.Chicat wrote:Well, he was 7-9 last night and he's shooting over 53% for the year....Puerco wrote:TJ is a Steve Nash that can't shoot but can play defense.
He can shoot. He just hasn't demonstrated he can drive the lane and finish at the rim yet in the NBA. His mid-range game is outstanding and his three point shooting is respectable enough that defenses are going to have to stop sagging off him outside.
I don't blame NBA GM's for not taking him. I mean personally, I thought he was worthy of a team snagging him in the mid to late 2nd round. But we got to watch him every game for two years. I don't know what extent NBA scouts and other decision makers watched film on him, but you have to think there is a difference between watching film for a few games and actually seeing what a guy does on the court and for a team over the course of two seasons (besides homerism). You have to think they are spending more time looking at the higher talent or upside guys. Maybe TucsonClip can chime in on this.carolinacat wrote:It says a lot that every single NBA GM passed on TJ McConnell despite the fact that Sean Miller was adamant prior to the draft that his point guard was very capable of playing in the league.
Some of these guys aren't as smart as they think they are. Every NBA GM passed on Gilbert Arenas in the first round as well to my astonishment. And I laughed when the Minnesota Timberwolves took Ndudi Ebi in the first round. That GM was Kevin McHale, who by the way just lost his job yesterday.
That's why I've been beating the drum of his shooting determining his NBA success. He can pass, that skill is a given. Being a pass first guy, the defense is going to want to take that away by sagging. If he can knock down enough shots to force them to play him straight up, he opens up his ability to create for others. He doesn't need to be Steve Nash, he needs to be good enough that a defense can't clog passing lanes by ducking under screens and hanging off when he tries to enter to the post.rgdeuce wrote:He's actually done a nice job in the restricted area that I have seen, though I have missed probably 3 of his last 4 games. Couldn't find an up to date shot chart, but in this one which seems to be about 4-5 games old or so, he is 9-13 in the restricted area, and I can attest that one of those was a blocked shot and the other an altered shot, both when help defenders came to contest.Chicat wrote:Well, he was 7-9 last night and he's shooting over 53% for the year....Puerco wrote:TJ is a Steve Nash that can't shoot but can play defense.
He can shoot. He just hasn't demonstrated he can drive the lane and finish at the rim yet in the NBA. His mid-range game is outstanding and his three point shooting is respectable enough that defenses are going to have to stop sagging off him outside.
http://vorped.com/1-nba/2015-2016/playe ... shotchart/" target="_blank
It's good to see him knocking down these outside shots now. He will continue to get more confident and like you said, teams are going to have to come up on him a little more if he starts a game knocking them down. I'd still sag off in the first quarter until he shows he is not going to have knock them down. I'd much rather him drop 14 on me playing off a little than have him cutting into the defense with his dribble to open things up for open teammates, especially when he gets the ball on the wing to help combat feeds to Okafor in the low post.
On ESPN's 76er's team page, they don't even have a picture yet of TJ for their "Assist Leader". Might want to break out a phone and take his picture!rgdeuce wrote:Yep. You you can see teams making the adjustments on TJ now, which they can afford to do because his teammates are so bad/behind. Cut the head off the snake.
In the last four games, outside of the Thunder, TJ has played three top defenses, San Antonio (2), Dallas (8), and Indiana (5):
FG 3pt
5-8 0-1
4-6 0-0
6-9 1-3
7-9 2-3
That's 69% from the field and 43% from three. Last ten games 56% fg and 35% from three
TJ will never be the point guard that says, ok play off me, Im dropping 25 on you tonight, though I do feel that is possible for him and will happen at some point this year. If I am Brent Brown, TJ has already shown you what he can do when teams play straight up or just off a little. I'd be pulling him over and telling him if they are playing off you like this, I want 12 plus shots from you every game, no excuses. I mean look at those numbers, those don't happen if you are being played straight up almost no matter who you are, but if that is what you are given and you are giving us that from the floor, keep shooting. Yes you will lose a lot of that efficiency, but shoot until that 69 becomes the low 50s and the 43 is in the low 30s. That's not who he needs to be, but just to get things back to somewhat normal and open it back up for him to be TJ again. From there, like you said, then it's just a case of him just being good enough to keep them somewhat honest. It was like that here his senior year: teams sagged way off and were doing everything short of yelling "shoot it" and when he started knocking them down, they came up some. A lot of teams still stayed a little off and wanted him to be the guy who beat you with a jumpshot, but it was enough to open things up a little more and was all he needed and he was still shooting efficiently. But I'm looking at those shooting numbers above, and those aren't Rondo numbers even his FG% when the bulk of his attempts were right around the basket on drives and fast breaks.
84Cat wrote:
The joke is that it isn't gonna work. They've been bad to pathetic for 3 years going on 4 and they still don't have a ton of interesting assets.rgdeuce wrote:I didn't fully believe that, 100 percent, until last night. You gotta let these guys win one game, right? Tanking or not, one win is not going to make the difference with this team. You gotta throw them a bone every once in a while. Psychologically, losing for 13, 20, 25 straight cannot be good for young players. There are more than just a couple guys on this team who can help you on a good team and/or can become very good players or better.