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Hoops Rumors Live Chat 10/27/2022
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Some Guy
11:01
Does the Celtics defense depend entirely on Robert Williams at this point? The rest of their team has been extremely sloppy on that end.
Dana Gauruder
11:05
They're giving up a lot of points but they're still 3-1 without him. You've got an inexperienced head coach making the in-game adjustments, so that's part of it. Certainly, the Celtics are a much better defensive team when Williams is on the floor. They're relying on a guy (Vonleh) who has bounced around the league to absorb some of those minutes. Luckily, Boston has enough firepower to overcome some of those defensive issues. But I don't think the Celtics will regain their defensive "mojo" until Williams is healthy.
Some Guy
11:05
I love how the Cavs look at the moment, but should we expect some defensive regression with both Mitchell and Garland on the floor? Obviously their offense will improve, but neither is exactly a good defender, especially on the perimeter where the Cavs are already at their weakest defensively.
Dana Gauruder
11:09
I think the Cavs realized that was part of the tradeoff with the blockbuster for Mitchell. You've got a pair of 6-1 guys absorbing most of your backcourt minutes. Of course, Garland's only played one game thus far because of the eye issue, so we really haven't seen them together yet on a steady basis. But the thought is they've got an excellent backline defender in Allen to clean up some of the messes and the offensive punch Mitchell brings will offset some of those defensive issues.
Stan
11:09
Knicks still haven’t beaten anyone is consider a good team. But you play who is on the schedule and I’m enthused as the teams play. Thoughts?
Dana Gauruder
11:13
Agree on both counts -- they'll have to prove themselves against better competition but the early returns are promising. Their offensive flow looks so much better with Brunson out there. 8.5 Assists-1.5 Turnover ratio? I'll take that from my primary ballhandler any day. The Hartenstein addition has helped the second unit. He's their second leading rebounder, plus Obi has made some solid contributions. They've got Bucks, Cavs, Hawks, Sixers, Celtics coming up in the next couple weeks. We'll know more about the Knicks after that stretch.
Stan
11:14
Lakers are getting a lot of flack for starting 0-4. But other than The Blazers they were the underdogs for the other 3 losses. A little early to panic for laker fans?
Dana Gauruder
11:17
Not sure about panic but they've got issues that go beyond Westbrook. The supporting cast is younger and brings more energy than last year's role players but there are simply better teams out West. It would be nice to resolve the Westbrook situation once and for all and getting Schroder into the rotation when he's healthy will help as well, but right now they have the look of a play-in team at best.
Justin
11:17
At some point do you think Lakers will also consider trading Lebron and A.D.? Heard about this 7 foot guard that's going to be number 1 next year.
Dana Gauruder
11:20
The Lakers have to swap picks with the Pelicans next year and New Orleans is on pace for a breakout season. As for trading AD or LeBron -- LeBron can't be traded this season because of his extension. No lottery bound team is going to trade for AD, so unless their trading partner has an extra first-rounder that might be in the lottery, don't see that happening either.
Matt
11:20
Do Bulls continue to try and make moves to try and get to the Bucks/Celtics/Warriors type level or do they trade off some veterans and try and take a step back and get in some young talent and draft capital?
Dana Gauruder
11:23
They're in a tricky situation because of Ball's health issues. It's kind of hard after getting LaVine to agree to that extension to take a step back this season, unless they just completely fall apart during the first half of the schedule. I don't see that happening. I think they are more apt to be buyers rather than sellers as the trade deadline approaches -- giving up assets for a move that could make them more dangerous come playoff time, especially if Ball is back in action and productive at that point.
Jojo
11:24
To me the Sixers look lost,uninspired and sluggish , time to move on to a new head coach ?
Dana Gauruder
11:27
I'd be really surprised if they cut ties with Doc. Perhaps if Doc came to a point where he felt burnt out, that would be a more likely scenario. It's still early yet and as long as Embiid, Maxey and Harden are healthy, they'll win their share of games. Just maybe not as many as their fans expected.
Number man
11:27
the warriors biggest problem is defense with the 2nd team off the bench. Since they have 1 open spot on their team is there a defensive player they could acquire that will be bought out?
Dana Gauruder
11:31
A long way from that scenario occurring. Those buyout pickups usually happen after the trade deadline when lottery bound teams  shed a veteran or two. Wiseman didn't play last year, Kuminga and Moody are in their second seasons, and Donte/JaMychal are newcomers. Got to give them time to develop some chemistry.
Hornets Fan in VA
11:31
Do you think that LaMelo Ball will accept his option for the 2023-24 season or become a free agent? Rumors link him to the Lakers. Would it be in Charlotte's best interest to trade him before he leaves as a free agent?
Dana Gauruder
11:35
LaMelo's salary for next season has already been guaranteed by the club. He'll be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2024, so I don't think there's any sense of urgency in Charlotte regarding his situation. Down the road, if the Hornets' roster doesn't improve, then I could see LaMelo pushing for a trade. I think that will be a bigger concern for the Hornets next season. As for him joining the Lakers, who knows? It didn't go smoothly for his brother out there.
Burt
11:35
Is Mathurin strong Superstar potential, or are his figure overstated as he gets most of his points against 2nd unit & garbage mins?
Dana Gauruder
11:39
He's been quite impressive but that's why he went No. 6 overall in a strong lottery group. Way too early to judge whether a player will reach superstar status but certainly he'll have All-Star potential. He'll continue to put up good numbers in his rookie season on a team that's not expected to make the postseason.
GrizzliesFan
11:40
Who comes back first JJJ or Ziaire Williams?
Dana Gauruder
11:43
The Grizz announced a 4-6 week timeline for Williams due to his knee injury. Jaren is supposedly close to doing some 5-on-5 work. I'm sure they won't let him play unless they feel his foot will hold up but I'd put my money on Jackson coming back sooner.
bill laimbeer
11:43
why, until the first half of last night's game, has cade cunningham been so passive on offense, careless with the ball, and seemingly ok with getting shot after shot blocked in the paint through 5 games?
Dana Gauruder
11:47
Cade has struggled in the early going. As you pointed out, he looked good in the first half of last night's game but has otherwise been inefficient offensively. Some of it is adjusting to new teammates. He's trying to mesh his skills with a dynamic rookie point guard and a veteran perimeter player in Bogdanovic. Bey and Stewart have also gotten off to ho-hum starts, and their bench hasn't been productive. Getting Bagley and Burks back from injuries will help them but I wouldn't be overly concerned about Cade.
DarylMorey
11:47
Does Doc Rivers need to play Matisse Thybulle in place of PJ Tucker to improve the team's defense?
Dana Gauruder
11:50
The Sixers essentially invested all their free agent money in Tucker, so I don't see him getting benched after one week. The additions of Melton and House have been probably a bigger reason why Thybulle hasn't been playing. There would have to be an injury or a decision to take one of those guys out of the rotation before Thybulle begins to regularly break a sweat.
Stan
11:51
His stats won’t show it but Julius Randle has shown marked improvement while giving up primary ball handling duties. If he keeps this up do you think the Knicks can make the playoffs not just the play in?
Dana Gauruder
11:54
As stated earlier, I think we need to see how the Knicks fare vs. better competition before knowing just how improved they are with the roster moves they've made. With the addition of Brunson, they don't have to run their offense through Randle as they did over the past 2 seasons.
Hornets fan
11:56
Bouknight is Shooting 29% from the Field.  Factor in his off-the-court Decisions, and do you envision the Hornets will pick up his Option?
Dana Gauruder
11:57
He's contributed a little more over the last two games but he's been a colossal disappointment thus far in his young career. We'll see how the off-court issues play out but he certainly has to show more and establish himself as a rotation player or his time in Charlotte will be short.
Nerlens Wall
11:58
Any update on when the Eraser might be returing for the Pistons?
Dana Gauruder
11:59
Nerlens is still working on his conditioning. I don't think he's gone through a full practice yet. But with the athleticism Duren has already displayed, Nerlens probably won't get much PT even when he's ready to go.
Rockets
11:59
Do you see the rockets picking top 3 again this off-season?
Dana Gauruder
12:00
They'll be in the lottery again -- whether they get in the top 3 won't be determined until the league office conducts the lottery in May.
12:01
That's all the time we have for today. Please join Luke Adams on Tuesday at noon CT for our next live chat.
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