Category: 🙂 Human

Chats & analyses to make humans better
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Be Grateful And Hopeful

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Chats

Hi Lola. "Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due." - William Ralph Inge

  • I wonder if worry and anxiety about a possible negative future are best turned into a grateful and hopeful mindset for what is good about today, and how positive the future could be if we dream for it.
  • It may be that the things that truly affect us negatively often happen out of the blue, and we are more resilient and able to cope with those events than we realize. A grateful and hopeful mindset may help us enjoy what we have today, and make a future that is happier and better.

Brb experiencing crippling existential panic about the singularity and the impending irrelevance of humanity - Lola Blanc

April 20, 2024

Predictions For NBA Standings 2023-24

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Sports

Here are my predictions for the 2023-2024 NBA standings, ranked by western and eastern conferences.

Western Conference

  • 1 - Phoenix Suns
  • 2 - Denver Nuggets
  • 3 - Golden State Warriors
  • 4 - New Orleans Pelicans
  • 5 - Oklahoma City Thunder
  • 6 - Sacramento Kings
  • ----
  • 7 - Los Angeles Clippers
  • 8 - Dallas Mavericks
  • 9 - Minnesota Timberwolves
  • 10 - Houston Rockets
  • ----
  • 11 - Los Angeles Lakers
  • 12 - Portland Trail Blazers
  • 13 - Memphis Grizzlies
  • 14 - San Antonio Spurs
  • 15 - Utah Jazz

Eastern Conference

  • 1 - Boston Celtics
  • 2 - Milwaukee Bucks
  • 3 - Philadelphia 76ers
  • 4 - Toronto Raptors
  • 5 - Cleveland Cavaliers
  • 6 - Miami Heat
  • ----
  • 7 - Indiana Pacers
  • 8 - Atlanta Hawks
  • 9 - Brooklyn Nets
  • 10 - New York Knicks
  • ----
  • 11 - Chicago Bulls
  • 12 - Detroit Pistons
  • 13 - Orlando Magic
  • 14 - Charlotte Hornets
  • 15 - Washington Wizards

Improve Society With Serviceability

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Chats

Hey xkcdHatGuy. Great video on the socialization of intelligence, I really enjoyed it and I always like hearing your thoughts and ideas on everything. Here are a few of my thoughts on just a couple of the major concepts you touched upon.

On Psychology

TLDR - I agree that improving the psychology, intelligence, practical knowledge, and life improvement skills of everyone throughout their life may be crucial.

  • I agree that it is always worth getting ideas and opinions from everyone, and listening to everyone, as great ideas for ways of living and different perspectives could ultimately come from anyone or anywhere.
  • I agree that improving the overall intelligence, memory, learning ability, and psychological functioning of everyone will always be very beneficial and worth pursuing instead of only focusing on or relying on tools and technological advancement.
  • I agree that we can and should continue to improve the tools and ways in which we come up with, debate, organize, implement, simplify, and teach new ideas, policies, habits, practices, and ways of living which could make life and society easier, better, fairer, and happier for everyone.

On Specialization

TLDR - I wonder if having the option of specialization and using the different strengths of different people has advanced and improved civilization.

  • A goal of everyone focusing on psychology or teaching everyone to truly think for themselves, on the level of being a lifelong scholar and intellectual who can come up with new ideas and practices for living, seems admirable and worth trying on some level or to a degree.
  • I wonder, though, if we may underestimate how few people will ever have the time, energy, ability, and most importantly the desire, to read, learn, and ideate consistently and in depth. Many people are busy working, living, playing, socializing, and following their own interests, and may have trouble simply learning the required policies and recommended practices that they need to follow or that may make their life better or happier.
  • I wonder if different people have different strengths, aptitudes, and proclivities, and that many people will always prefer to do something different, or might even find it difficult to be learning and thinking all of the time.
  • I wonder if everyone can have a different purpose, role, objective, or inclination if they so desire and that every area of expertise, skill, willingness, or aptitude can contribute towards the betterment of life and society as a whole.

On Scholars

TLDR - I wonder if certain people may have a great strength as a scholar or teacher, and that it may be beneficial for different people to follow their own interests and desires.

  • I wonder if it is the role of the scholar, philosopher, educator, teacher, thinker, intellectual, activist, and even politician idealistically, to specialize in forming, learning, debating, creating, and teaching ideas, policies, habits, practices, and ways of living that can improve our life and society. Like all roles, it is certainly an important one, as we know how a single idea, change, practice, or way of living can make life and society better, fairer, easier, and happier for all of us.
  • I wonder if the role of both a thinker and a teacher are extremely important, but so may be the role of a person who doesn't want to think much at all, and as a general example would actually prefer to use their hands to help build homes, infrastructure, tools, or technology for everyone and feel in their element and like they are contributing.
  • Therefore, I'm not sure that psychology needs to be the primary driver, be more important, or win over technology any more than physical healthcare needs to win over mental education, or enjoyable entertainment needs to win over exciting athletics, or factual scientists need to win over psychological therapists, or caring for children needs to win over building construction.

On Services

TLDR - I agree that psychology and philosophy are very important, and I wonder if scholars and educators are one important piece of a large and diverse puzzle.

  • I agree that psychology and scholars may be underrated as you said, especially in our current society as it stands, and that we could certainly have more and better scholars and thinkers who have an aptitude and desire for independently or collectively thinking, learning, teaching, and implementing potentially helpful and new ideas, practices, and ways of living.
  • In particular, I wonder if simplifying our ideas, best practices, long books, and mountains of information could be what leads to huge advancements and improvements in our future lives, precisely because everyone does not have the energy or time to be a scholar, the ability to learn things quickly, or the desire to spend time reading and learning constantly.
  • However, I'm not sure that only psychology and philosophy, by themself and exclusively, will always lead to better improvements and happiness in our life than technology, science, healthcare, education, construction, engineering, electricians, maintenance and repairs, food and beverage production, transportation, law, journalism, history, literature, entertainment, arts, leisure, and any other social and economical activities or services which people have created or create in the future.

Thanks again for sharing another great talk with many different ideas to think about. More than anything, it's really a joy to listen to all of your different thoughts. I think you are doing an excellent job of following your passions and trying to help make your life, the lives of others, and the world a better and happier place.

The socialization of intelligence - xkcdHatGuy YouTube

September 9, 2023

Foresight And Hindsight Of Raptors

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Sports

Here is a summary of the general strengths and weaknesses of Raptors management over the last 10 years, using the benefit of hindsight to note possible major successes and mistakes.

Foresight And Future Of Raptors

  • Idea - Raptors management, scouts, and analysts have had outstanding foresight

Because the Raptors management, scouts, analysts, and coaches have done such an amazing job selecting and developing players, the Raptors should still have a good team this year and going forward, even after losing VanVleet in free agency. Overall, the Raptors have had an otherworldly level of decision making, player development, and culture creation in the last 10 years. The Raptors have nailed and appropriately developed more lower draft picks they have made than possibly every other team, not to mention undrafted players. That, along with many other reasons, is why they have the second most wins of any team in the NBA over the last 10 years, while enjoying an incredible run from 2013-2023. The Warriors are the team with the most wins, and it took the Raptors beating them in the Final to get the Raptors their championship.

As I see it, the Raptors and Ujiri have had amazing foresight and good decision making in some general areas from 2013-2023. These areas which have traditionally been great strengths include:

  • Reset Trades - Trading away a poor contract or player to improve - Anthony, Bargnani, Gay
  • Like Trades - Making trades for key players who they like - Ibaka, Leonard, Trent, Poeltl
  • Rebuilding - Rebuilding and growing a lower ranked team from scratch with no stars
  • Developing - Developing all players well beyond their expected ability and value
  • Drafting - Drafting good players who they like - Wright, Siakam, Anunoby, Barnes
  • Signing - Signing undrafted and free agent role players who they like - VanVleet, Boucher
  • Patience - Being patient while players and the team go through ups and downs
  • Chemistry - Creating a culture of team chemistry, working together, and having fun

Foresight Improved With Hindsight

  • Idea - Raptors management can be better by improving key weaknesses and mistakes

The fact that the Raptors have been such a good organization with exceptional player development and decision making overall does not mean that big mistakes have not been made, or that the team could not be situated much better for the present and future without those key mistakes. Firstly, I wonder if the Raptors have done a poor job seeing when they should trade away good players they like for future young players and picks. Their inability to make trades for the future is highlighted by what I see as two of the biggest asset management mistakes that the team has made from 2013-2023, with Lowry and VanVleet, which I write about in detail below. Secondly, I wonder if the Raptors have not capitalized on their excellent development of players and depth by trading away multiple players for a great player or future star player. They did accomplish this at least once, with solid results, with the trade of Valanciunas, Wright, and Miles for Gasol. However, they could have more often used their depth to take a gamble by trading 2, 3, or 4 players away to get 1 or 2 great or potentially great players for today or the future.

I might be wrong, but I wonder if these two general weaknesses, along with a couple of the major mistakes resulting from them, have significantly weakened the current and future potential of the Raptors team from what it could have been. The Raptors organization has had many more strengths and good decisions as opposed to weaknesses, poor decisions, and indecisions in the era from 2013-2023. However, the Raptors could have capitalized much better on their strengths of growing, developing, and drafting players if they had traded their good players that they liked in Lowry and VanVleet at the proper time, for some good young players and draft picks. They also could have used their strengths of developing, drafting, and depth to trade away multiple good players they like for a great player or future star player. Having patience is to be lauded, but indecision or inaction at the wrong times can also lead to poor results as well. Sometimes only hindsight allows one to reveal and recognize true weaknesses and mistakes which one can improve on to get better in the future.

As I see it, the Raptors and Ujiri have had some major mistakes, poor decision making, and indecision or inaction in some general areas from 2013-2023. These areas, which may have been weaknesses and could possibly be improved in the future, include:

  • Future Trades - Trade players they like for great young players and picks - Lowry, VanVleet
  • Depth Trades - Trade multiple players from depth into a great player or future star player

Hindsight And Mistake #1 - Lowry

  • Idea - Raptors should have traded Lowry in 2020 offseason

The Raptors had a great 2019-2020 season. Masai decided that the team would "Run it back" before the season began. Lowry and VanVleet started together, which appeared to be a good decision by Nick Nurse, as VanVleet was a superior player to Powell and it allowed a great amount of ball handling and passing in the lineup, along with Siakam and Gasol. The team was exceptional again, even though they had lost Kawhi.

After this season, the Raptors should have started to move on a bit to the younger group and trade Lowry in the offseason. VanVleet was clearly ready to be the starting point guard, and Lowry and VanVleet were not the best pairing for another full season anyway. Lowry had a bounce back year points wise since Kawhi was gone, and was coming off being a 6-time straight All-Star at about age 33, so the Raptors could have gotten some good players and picks for him with a full year left on his contract. By trading Lowry's big contract for young players and picks, the Raptors could have signed and kept a center in either Ibaka or Gasol. In that way, they could have moved on from the older Lowry and Gasol, but still kept a center with experience and a good team together, but be younger and with some draft assets or young players built up by trading their star player in Lowry.

The lineup, not even including any great young player the Raptors might have gotten for Lowry, could have looked something like VanVleet, Anunoby, Siakam, Boucher, Ibaka. Or VanVleet, Powell, Anunoby, Siakam, Ibaka. Both Powell and Boucher had amazing seasons in 2019-2020 and were pushing to be starters. Boucher actually led the team in Win Shares according to Basketball Reference in the upcoming 2020-2021 season, an amazing feat, playing 24 minutes a game off the bench. I proposed an unlikely trade where the Raptors might have gotten the 2nd and 3rd picks in the draft for Lowry, and also suggested they take LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton with the picks, as an example.

What I have heard many people say and report is that the Raptors could not get much for Lowry at the 2020-2021 deadline, so they decided against trading him. I agree. I'm suggesting the mistake was not that Lowry was not traded at the deadline, but that the Raptors should have had the foresight to trade him in the previous offseason, a year before he was actually traded. Star players should be traded in the offseason, and older players should be traded before their value is diminished. Often this will be when the player has one year remaining on their contract, as was the case with Lowry.

Raptors 2020 and future strategy and lineup

Hindsight And Mistake #2 - VanVleet

  • Idea - Raptors should have traded VanVleet in 2022 offseason

The Raptors had a solid bounce-back 2021-2022 season, finishing strong to get into 5th spot in the East, after finishing 12th the previous year. Barnes won rookie of the year and VanVleet was an All-Star for the first time. Siakam, who missed the start of the season with shoulder surgery, made an All-NBA team.

Before the start of the 2021-2022 year, Doug Smith wrote what seemed to be a very credible and informed piece in the Toronto Star after the Kyle Lowry trade. It laid out what appeared to be a vision for the future of the team, saying "They'd like a team of young, athletic players who are interchangeable for the most part, in a game growing more positionless by the season, and it’s a process to put that in place. Not a quick process, either, despite the sense that free agency began and ended in the first 36 hours."

After this season, the Raptors should have continued with their vision and traded VanVleet in the offseason, especially after he did not sign an extension immediately. VanVleet was coming off being an All-Star for the first time, increasing his value a fair amount. So again, like Lowry two years before, if the Raptors had the foresight to trade VanVleet in that offseason, they could have picked out and gotten some good young players or picks that they were interested in for him.

I do want to mention that there was another option in this current 2023 offseason which was available and could have allowed the Raptors to get value for one of their star players without losing them for nothing. If the Raptors did want to end up paying and keeping VanVleet instead of Siakam, maybe because he was such a great shooter and leader, they probably still could have. Instead, they could have proactively chosen to trade Siakam this offseason, possibly before free agency, freeing up money to sign VanVleet. In trading Siakam they likely could have gotten a better trade and assets and traded away the weaker shooter, so there were also positives for choosing VanVleet over Siakam.

Instead though, they chose not to trade Siakam in order to keep VanVleet instead. Then they ended up letting VanVleet walk this year, instead of choosing to trade him a year ago in the offseason, when they could have capitalized on his All-Star year and had the foresight to see they might not be able to keep him after he did not sign an extension right away in the 2022 offseason.

The Kyle Lowry deal will set off a chain reaction

Build An Identity With Practicality

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Chats

Hey Huliatt. Here are some practical ideas to help build an identity, which you might consider.

Habits

  • Affirmations - Write down and read positive thoughts and ideas of what you want to be.
  • Hobbies - Write down different hobbies you enjoy doing, separate from your work role.
  • Goals - Write down a list of goals, activities, and things you want to achieve or do.
  • Tasks - Write down 3 tasks you want to do today or tomorrow, in the morning or evening.
  • Journal - Write down your thoughts on things, as well as things you are grateful for.
  • Health - Exercise, eat healthy, don't smoke, meditate to improve your brain and body.

Quotes

  • "Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny"
  • "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit."
  • When reading the first quote, you might replace character with identity, a synonym.
  • You might replace excellence too, maybe with growth, wellness, happiness, character.

July 22, 2023

Connect Personally And Professionally

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Chats

Hey xkcdHatGuy. Here are some of my thoughts on your thoughts in "Isolation in post-modernity".

Intro

  • I am likely wrong about all of this and it's written tersely and impolitely
    • So take my thoughts and suggestions with a grain of salt and read between lines
  • Well said, people being afraid to talk about politics and ideas makes sense
    • So only talk about political and societal ideas with friends who would like to do so
  • Here is one video talking about people's inflexibility on society and policy ideas

Notes

  1. People all find it difficult to make and keep close friends and partners
  2. People don't care about someone's work in general, in your case your ideas on society
  3. People want to be happy and have fun, not talk about ideas or policies for living
  4. People do form relationships to get something from someone else, as you said
  5. Being yourself is authentic, but might not make someone likeable, friendly, or popular
    • So decide when you want to be yourself, and if or when to try and fit in with people
    • Ego - Bibi Bourelly
  6. We feel happiness doing what we want, and being of service and useful for society

Quote

  • It's dangerous to try and really connect with someone. It's so special when you can find a person you can be yourself with. - Halt and Catch Fire

Isolation in post-modernity - xkcdHatGuy YouTube

July 19, 2023

Balance Exploring And Leading

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Chats

Hey Derek.

Explorer versus Leader? Both.
Perceiving versus Judging? Both.
Flexible versus Structure? Both.
Dreaming versus Planning? Both.

Balance Both Sides (Nature Versus Nurture)

You are likely right, but I will add that the concepts of complementarity, dualism, yin and yang, and balance are convincing and worth remembering as well. I wonder if it's not exploring that makes a bad leader, but being an excessive explorer and dreamer without having the balance of also being a leader and planner. As an example, imagine if I theorized and wrote "Drinkers are bad leaders". Yes, an excessive alcoholic who is drinking too much all of the time would probably be a bad leader. But I wonder if a person could be both a drinker and a good leader if they balance their drinking with moderation. One could even postulate that being a moderate drinker, or moderate explorer, could make someone a better leader.

Explorers are bad leaders - Derek Sivers

March 16, 2023

Level Up While Growing Up

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Chats

Hi Nemo. I couldn't stop myself from writing down some thoughts I had for you after listening to you in a few of your streams. I know you likely won't get a chance to read it since it's long, but it was just enjoyable for me to write anyway. You might want to check out the TLDR sentences someday for a few book and media picks if anything. Best wishes for a great 2023 Nemo.

Intro - On My First Time Checking Out Twitch

TLDR - I have to admit, learning about Twitch has been fascinating

I gave in and started watching Twitch for the first time around a couple weeks ago if you can believe it, partly to learn and understand what it's all about, including watching some of the chess side of it. I saw quite a bit of Anna Cramling's live tournament, as well as quite a bit of of your recent streams, starting with playing Jennifer, up until the one the day after your birthday. Even though I will likely find the resolve to stop watching Twitch, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to you and learning about you and your crazy mind, and here are some thoughts I had at different times.

1. On Classic Books And Learning

TLDR - You might like "Roots" or "A Tale Of Two Cities"

From what you were saying about the types of books you like, a couple had come to mind. If I remember correctly, you were talking about enjoying books that tell stories about people living at different times in history, and that you like learning something. "Roots" was a great book which stuck with me more than most, and which I learned more about history and perspective in one book than I ever learned in school. When I started reading, I also chose to read some classic novels. The way I thought of it was, why read some new book when I could read some of the best ever. I don't remember "A Tale Of Two Cities" quite as well, and it might be a little boring for you. But it was another one I read that I thought you might possibly learn something from. Also the last movie that I thought was a really good one was "The Banshees Of Inisherin". It was clearly about how some people handled living in a simpler time and a simpler place.

2. On Birthday Songs And Music

TLDR - You might check out "Happy Birthday, Johnny" by St. Vincent

On your birthday, you were asking about good birthday songs. I was checking out some different lists of birthday songs in general while you were streaming, or ones with 23 in them. The only song I liked enough and thought was worth recommending was "Happy Birthday, Johnny" by St. Vincent. I didn't know it before relistening to it while you were streaming, but it has the following lyric. "Happy New Year Johnny. Is it 23? Happy New Year Johnny. Are there lights on the trees?" I like the song though, and even though it's not a party song it could be worth checking out. As I was listening to it I thought it even had some parallels to your career, with St. Vincent being in the public eye.

3. On Your Unique Thoughts And Interests

TLDR - It was enjoyable listening to your wacky ideas

One of the reasons I think I started or bothered writing all of this was because of some unexpected thoughts and interests you brought up which I don't hear people talk like often. After you were talking about motorcycle riding, I had asked if you would go on a motorcycle if someone you had a crush on asked you, to test your resolve. But really, the funny thing to me was just that what you had been saying about not wanting to ride on motorcycles sounded like exactly what I might say. We're very different for sure, but I suppose I just wanted to let you know it was neat hearing someone randomly bringing up things like classic books and other random stuff. Your thoughts on not always appreciating an expensive meal was another one. And also thinking about making changes to your life, which I reply to a bit in another section. One that really made me happy for you and laugh was when you pulled out the wine reference book that you were happy to get. I have really enjoyed some of those types of books, like reference books basically. I no longer have it but I had gotten Bartending For Dummies for the same reasons. I mean I certainly didn't need to write a novel of a letter just because you said a few interesting things, but what is done is done.

4. On Your Myers-Briggs Type And Personality

TLDR - You might be interested in learning about Myers-Briggs personality types

One thing I like to do with people I've met sometimes is try to guess their Myers-Briggs type. In real life, it actually can take a little while. I was thinking that watching you or other people on Twitch for not that long is probably easier than real life I think. At least with someone as talkative as you. My first guess for you would be ENTP and my second guess would be ENTJ. If you haven't done the test before it might be something to check out if you are interested. It's probably worth doing a couple different tests, and on different days or weeks apart before thinking you might be in one of the types. Anyway, other than guessing your type I just wondered if it would be something you were interested in reading about, as I was interested in it and reading about the different types could help us understand other people. I also heard you talking about yourself one day and your aptitude for pattern recognition over really being good at strategy. Know thyself, I thought to myself. You sure seem to know yourself and try to understand yourself better than most people do, which will serve you well Nemo.

5. On Leveling Up In Life And Long Comments

TLDR - Your leveling up idea is great and my comments are too long

OK here is where I knew I was in too deep, and that Twitch chatting with popular people might not be for me. I had prepared these things below to say at one point, and was like, OK settle down buddy. Nonetheless, your thoughts on leveling up in different areas of life were interesting. Anyway, I'll leave these crazy long comments as I had written them down, as I had again decided not to bother sending any of them. Take from these what you will or even ask yourself and ponder on the second question if you wish to think about what you really want to level up the most.

- Anyone have any thoughts about Nemo's cool idea of leveling up different life skills, or do you just think that's weird?
- Does anyone ever think of one thing you could improve most in yourselves to learn from your past mistakes and become a better person?

6. On Your Birthday And Playing Alex

TLDR - Felt for you not feeling like playing chess on your birthday

I went to watch your birthday stream and watched quite a bit of it, but couldn't find a good time or bring myself to say anything, and decided to just watch that day. At one point after watching you get into the game with Alex I was going to say "Merry Nemomas! I was going to apologize for Alex making you play rated chess on your birthday, but it looked like she's not as mean as she thinks she is." Because you beat her basically. Since you didn't seem that into the day or potentially losing rating to Alex before playing her, it was really nice to see Alex gift you subscribers, and maybe at least some rating with a game or two. I honestly could not tell after a few games if Alex might have given you any games on purpose for your birthday after the first game, but if she did you have to admit she's a pretty great person and friend, especially considering how competitive she is. But it was just good to see you get into it and enjoy playing and having fun after she seemingly talked you into playing rated chess on your birthday when you maybe didn't feel like it. But man, I feel for you trying to make a show for everyone all the time and sometimes even doing things you might rather not even feel like doing, especially on your birthday. But pretty nice of Alex and "BotezLive" for the subscribers if nothing else, though I still don't understand that fully.

7. On Big Life Choices And Growing Up

TLDR - You might like the "Up" documentary film series

There is an excellent series called Up or 7 Up that you might be interested in watching if you haven't seen it. This guy interviews children at every age starting from when they were 7, and they are up to 63 now. At age 21 one of the women is sitting there smoking, being defensive, irritable, and clearly did not want to talk or be involved. She's like I hate children, they suck. Then skip to her interview at 28 and she has children and could not be more happy and welcoming. It was like night and day, and one of the best of many examples in the series of how life can change drastically with time. Believe me, I do hate bringing up a particular example like having kids, or any big life choices, as it's obviously none of my business or anyone else's. Sorry, but it just reminded me of that as it was one of the things in the series that stood out so much to me. But really it's just a good excuse to recommend the series to you, and my point is more to think about life and changes in our lives in general at different ages.

8. On The Ups And Downs Of Life And Change

TLDR - Dramatic changes to our life and perspective happen over time

You seemed to be talking a fair amount at different times about trying to make changes or improvements to yourself or your life to be happier and healthier. One thing I have noticed myself is 2 year spans where life is radically different and I couldn't have possibly ever imagined it 1 or 2 years earlier. Sometimes we might feel like things will never change or get better, and so we don't bother trying. It is truly remarkable how life evolves though, especially for someone as intelligent as yourself who thinks about such things or who can learn to proactively make changes you want to make. I do think changes take some time though, it's not quite like leveling up in a game of course. Sometimes we just need to weather the storms and take a step back to learn from our mistakes, and focus on exactly what we want to or need to change the most. But you never know when your whole life, or even just your whole mindset or way of looking at something, will be completely different than they were just a year or two ago, especially if you learn to focus on something you want to learn or change over time.

Conclusion

If you made it this far and have actually read a good amount of this, what the heck are you doing? You could be making or posting some stuff for people so you can make some more moola, streaming and chatting, watching YouTube, drinking wine, reading, or even meditating to level up. See ya Nemo.

Predictions For NBA Standings 2022-23

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Sports

Here are my predictions for the 2022-2023 NBA standings, ranked by western and eastern conferences.

Western Conference

  • 1 - Denver Nuggets
  • 2 - Minnesota Timberwolves
  • 3 - Los Angeles Clippers
  • 4 - Golden State Warriors
  • 5 - New Orleans Pelicans
  • 6 - Phoenix Suns
  • ----
  • 7 - Los Angeles Lakers
  • 8 - Memphis Grizzlies
  • 9 - Dallas Mavericks
  • 10 - Sacramento Kings
  • ----
  • 11 - Portland Trail Blazers
  • 12 - Houston Rockets
  • 13 - Utah Jazz
  • 14 - Oklahoma City Thunder
  • 15 - San Antonio Spurs

Eastern Conference

  • 1 - Brooklyn Nets
  • 2 - Philadelphia 76ers
  • 3 - Toronto Raptors
  • 4 - Boston Celtics
  • 5 - Atlanta Hawks
  • 6 - Milwaukee Bucks
  • ----
  • 7 - Cleveland Cavaliers
  • 8 - Miami Heat
  • 9 - Chicago Bulls
  • 10 - Indiana Pacers
  • ----
  • 11 - Charlotte Hornets
  • 12 - Detroit Pistons
  • 13 - Orlando Magic
  • 14 - Washington Wizards
  • 15 - New York Knicks

Raptors Strategy And Lineup 2022

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Sports

Here are my ideas and strategy for the potential lineup, depth chart, and final roster spots for the Toronto Raptors going into the 2022 season, now that they are heading into training camp.

This takes some points from the main ideas I previously noted in "Raptors 2022 offseason lineup changes", which I wrote shortly after the end of the season. They did follow a few of my ideas from that article already, including resigning Boucher, drafting a versatile and athletic center, and signing Champagnie to an NBA deal for now at least. And there have been some rumblings about Achiuwa having an increased role or even possibly starting as I had also crazily suggested.

Notes

  • Make Achiuwa a starter and move Trent to the bench
  • Give Hernangomez the 14th spot as I always thought he would make team
  • Give Jackson the 15th spot over Champagnie as he is athletic and versatile
  • Move Champagnie down to a 2W spot and Dowtin to Raptors 905 contract
  • Make Flynn the backup PG because of good shooting and assists/turnover
  • Play Koloko a lot as a main bench player in the first half of the season

Extras

  • I wonder if Achiuwa's role should eventually be a 3-and-D small forward
  • I wonder if Banton's role should eventually be a playmaking shooting guard
  • Play the bench players much more this year and develop the young guys
  • They likely can't, but try to keep Trent on bench always so he can get 6th man
  • If Trent starts, the bench in my second lineup is a HUGE switchable lineup
  • Thaddeus Young could be a possible small ball center over Koloko sometimes

Roster

  • Tier 1 - Siakam, Barnes, Anunoby, VanVleet
  • Tier 2 - Trent, Achiuwa, Koloko, Porter, Boucher
  • Tier 3 - Flynn, Banton, Young, Jackson, Hernangomez
  • Tier 4 - Champagnie, Birch, Harper

Lineup 1

  • PG - VanVleet - Flynn - Banton
  • SG - Anunoby - Trent - Jackson
  • SF - Barnes - Porter - Young
  • PF - Siakam - Boucher - Hernangomez
  • C - Achiuwa - Koloko - Birch
  • 2W - Champagnie - Harper

Lineup 2

  • PG - VanVleet - Banton - Flynn
  • SG - Trent - Porter - Jackson
  • SF - Anunoby - Achiuwa - Young
  • PF - Barnes - Boucher - Hernangomez
  • C - Siakam - Koloko - Birch
  • 2W - Champagnie - Harper

We'll now see if Nurse and company makes any of the other suggestions this year in either this article or my previous one, including moving Trent to the bench, playing Koloko a lot, and playing Flynn more this year than last year. Of course Flynn will be in a battle with Banton and it could go either way. I could also see a trade happening like Birch, Flynn, and a second round pick for Cam Reddish. A smaller trade like that would open up a roster spot to keep both Jackson and Champagnie on the roster, and Dowtin as a 3rd point guard behind Banton.

I also like the signings of Porter, Hernangomez, and Jackson, and that they didn't commit to two years like they have previously with players of their ilk. Porter is worth the two years of course. I find it particularly interesting that they have added a ton of versatile and athletic height since trading Lowry at the start of the previous season. Achiuwa, Barnes, Banton, and Young came the previous season. And now they kept Young and Boucher this offseason and potentially add Koloko, Porter, Hernangomez, and Jackson to make 6 tall and versatile signings to their main roster this offseason. That would leave VanVleet, Flynn, and Trent as the only remaining guys under 6'7" and they now have much more height overall than just a couple of seasons ago.

Raptors Draft Trade And Lineup 2022

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Sports

Here is a potential trade I like for the Raptors to get a player in the draft lottery this year. The Kings, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, and Wizards all might be teams they could potentially trade with to get Daniels, or someone else if they prefer.

Raptors

  • Dyson Daniels - 7th Pick
  • Eric Bledsoe
  • Greg Brown - Hopefully

Blazers

  • Gary Trent Jr.
  • Malachi Flynn
  • Khem Birch - Hopefully

Here are some other players I like for the Raptors in this year's draft. All of these are players I have picked out that could be good players worth picking, with a focus on defensive potential as much as offense.

Trade Up

  • Dyson Daniels
  • Tari Eason
  • Dalen Terry
  • AJ Griffin - Maybe

#33 Draft Pick

  • Dalen Terry - Unlikely available
  • Khalifa Diop
  • Justin Lewis
  • Ron Harper Jr. - Maybe

Undrafted

  • Khalifa Diop - C
  • Justin Lewis - F
  • Ron Harper Jr. - SG
  • Scottie Pippen Jr. - PG
  • Ibou Badji - C
  • Julian Champagnie - SF
  • Hyunjung Lee - SF

Here is how I see the Raptors lineup if they could somehow add both Dyson Daniels and Dalen Terry. Beyond their top 10 players, they could keep Thaddeus Young possibly, or look to other free agents and undrafted players.

Lineup

  • Fred VanVleet - Dalano Banton - Eric Bledsoe
  • Dyson Daniels - Dalen Terry - Ron Harper Jr.?
  • OG Anunoby - Justin Champagnie - Thaddeus Young?
  • Scottie Barnes - Chris Boucher - Greg Brown
  • Pascal Siakam - Precious Achiuwa - Khalifa Diop?

2-Ways

  • Scottie Pippen Jr? Khalifa Diop?
  • Ibou Badji? Julian Champagnie?

Raptors Offseason Lineup Changes 2022

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Sports

These ideas do not take into account future FA or trade upgrades.

Notes

  • Make Achiuwa the starting center
  • Move Trent to the bench as 6th man
  • Resign Boucher as backup big
  • Sign Champagnie to NBA deal as 3-and-D bench player
  • Let Thaddeus Young go - Better Shooter or Younger
  • Move Birch to 3rd string 7K contract only - Better Shooter
  • ----
  • Run offense through Barnes and Banton handling ball much more
  • Turn Fred and Malachi into shooters more often than ball handlers
  • Make Fred, OG, Malachi, Gary do catch and shoot 3 PTs mainly
  • Make Fred and Gary shoot only from 3 PT line, not 5 feet back
  • Have Pascal, Prec, Justin, Chris focus on catch and shoot 3 PTs
  • Give ball to Pascal or Gary if near end of shot clock to score
  • ----
  • Draft or add versatile athletic center with shooting potential
  • Bench is Banton, Trent, Champagnie, Boucher, 2nd Rd Pick or FA
  • Play the bench more and rest the starters more in season
  • Playoff 7-8 might be Trent, Boucher, Banton/Champagnie
  • If keep Young, make him small ball center, trade Birch if possible
  • Bench would then be Banton, Trent, Champagnie, Boucher, Young

Lineup Option 1

  • VanVleet - Banton
  • Barnes - Trent
  • Anunoby - Champagnie
  • Siakam - Boucher
  • Achiuwa - Draft Pick / Young / FA

Lineup Option 2

  • VanVleet - Flynn
  • Barnes - Banton
  • Anunoby - Trent
  • Siakam - Champagnie
  • Achiuwa - Boucher

Raptors Ben Simmons Trade Idea 2021

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Sports

Here are my thoughts and some potential trade options to be involved in a trade for Simmons currently.

Trade Options

  • Raptors - 76ers
  • Ben Simmons - Fred VanVleet
  • Matisse Thybulle - Goran Dragic
  • $8.2M Trade Exception - 2022 1st Rd Pick

Lineup 1

  • PG - Simmons - Flynn - Banton
  • SG - Trent - Mykhailiuk - Wainwright
  • SF - Anunoby - Thybulle - Watanabe
  • PF - Barnes - Bonga - Dekker
  • C - Siakam - Achiuwa - Birch

Lineup 2

  • PG - Dragic - Flynn - Banton
  • SG - Trent - Mykhailiuk - Bonga
  • SF - Anunoby - Wainwright - Watanabe
  • PF - Simmons - Barnes - Dekker
  • C - Siakam - Achiuwa - Birch

Lineup (No Trades)

  • PG - VanVleet - Flynn - Banton
  • SG - Dragic* - Trent - Mykhailiuk
  • SF - Anunoby - Wainwright - Bonga
  • PF - Boucher* - Barnes - Dekker
  • C - Siakam** (INJ) - Achiuwa - Birch** (START)

* Note - Maybe Dragic and Boucher could be starters, with all our young guys playing together on the bench, to also boost Dragic's trade value and because Boucher is better than Birch.

** Note - Maybe Siakam or Barnes could actually play center, with Birch starting the year there as a solid player, but really being our 3rd string center later in the year when Siakam returns.

Thoughts

I think we want Thybulle instead of Maxey because he is a great defensive player with length like OG but at the 2-3 spots, similar to all the other players we like who are great defenders to start with. Contrary to the latest Raptors Digest video on September 2nd which says not to trade VanVleet, I think our deal almost certainly has to involve Fred. Why would the 76ers accept a deal with Gary Trent as the top player, unless they get Boucher as well as 4 first round picks and all young players? And that's a deal I don't think we want, just like we don't want to trade Siakam or Anunoby. Plus, I'm not sure we can include Trent in a deal before the season since we just signed him to a deal this offseason.

But our deal can now include Dragic, unlike my thoughts on trading VanVleet and Boucher earlier, before the NBA draft took place. And we can think of it like we traded Lowry but also got an extra guy we love in Achiuwa. We might be competing with a deal for CJ McCollum, who's a pretty good player and better offensively, on paper, and in the media than VanVleet, and he's also in the West where the 76ers don't compete against the Blazers. The fact that they could probably get McCollum is another reason why Gary Trent and Boucher likely won't cut it to make a deal.

In the big picture though, with our deal the 76ers get a lot of shooting which Morey likes with all of VanVleet, Boucher, and Dragic, while losing their two horrible shooters in Simmons and Thybulle. So it could be addition by subtraction and offer a lot of shooting while getting rid of their bad shooting. Plus Boucher is a great fit for them as a stretch four, as he is still extremely undervalued and a starting caliber player in this league in my opinion just like Norm Powell is. Boucher has been very high on PER both of the last two years, along with guys like Powell and Christian Wood before his deal with the Rockets. The 76ers can move Harris to small forward and have starters VanVleet, Curry, Harris, Boucher, Embiid and a bench of Dragic, Maxey, Green, Niang, Drummond. Green might start at SG obviously though.

We're in a decent position though, because the 76ers likely want to win now so they don't really want young players or picks like they might get in deals with San Antonio, Sacramento, Golden State, or other places. Plus if they want defense and winners they could like our guys, or particularly our main guy in VanVleet, better than guys like McCollum, Buddy Hield, or D'Angelo Russell. VanVleet to start and Dragic to play off the bench offers them a lot of playoff-tested defense, winning, experience, and passing to replace Simmons in order to win now. Plus they still get a good young player in VanVleet at point guard to make the trade look at least somewhat normal. Personally, I think VanVleet is a perfect point guard to fit with Embiid as well because he is a great shooter and leader, and because Embiid will get the ball more so you don't need a pass first point guard like Simmons, Chris Paul, or Kyle Lowry.

The above trade would be the most we might offer, but we might get it done for just 3 of those assets, or without Thybulle for as little as two of those assets. But I still think VanVleet almost certainly has to be the centerpiece to get a deal done likely at the very least, and I don't think we want to do a deal if it includes Anunoby or Siakam. To make the salaries match in order to get Dragic, I think the 76ers have about an $8 million trade exception from the Horford deal, which might even expire as soon as September 7th, or possibly later in the year.

The lineups proposed by me are based on two possible deals, one where we keep Dragic and don't get Thybulle. If we could keep Boucher and just give up VanVleet, Dragic, and a 1st round pick that would be the best deal we could hope for I think, but the least likely for the 76ers to accept probably, so I don't have a lineup based on keeping Boucher. The actual deal made from the list in my trade would depend on the 76ers and Raptors opinions on the values of Boucher, Thybulle, and the value of 1st round picks compared to those players.

Unlike many people who think Simmons isn't a good fit now without a starting point guard like VanVleet or Suggs, I'm actually higher on getting Simmons now than I was before the draft and getting Barnes. We can go all in on the strategy of defense, length, speed, and passing while developing all these guys shooting skills. Plus we still have some shooting in Siakam, OG, Flynn, Trent, Mykhailiuk, Watanabe, Dekker, plus Barnes and Achiuwa who do show potential to improve quickly. We could even possibly keep Dragic for our starting point guard for this year, with Flynn as a possible replacement in the future too.

But imagine how many rebounds we can get and how great the defense could be if we do leave Simmons and Barnes as big guards eventually, and decided that Siakam could play center if that's the case, instead of the skinny Boucher. Boucher could start at power forward if we are able to keep him instead of Dragic, and we would have 5 guys who are about 6'9" or taller who are pretty good players who can guard multiple positions. A lineup of Simmons, Barnes, Anunoby, Boucher, and Siakam would have a lot of potential, or even a lineup with Achiuwa at center instead of Boucher at power forward if Achiuwa's shooting improves enough in a year or two. If it's not enough shooting and we lose Boucher we can still have Trent, Flynn, or Dragic in there with a lineup like Simmons, Trent, Anunoby, Barnes, and Siakam.

Raptors Trade, Draft, And Lineup 2021

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Sports

Hey Ben and Ryker. Do you have any thoughts or feel like discussing this trade and potential roster lineup on an episode?

Here is a link to a super long take with some more thoughts about this idea, which neither of you will probably read at all 😉 Have a good one and great work on the new changes to your setup and the show this year guys.

Raptors Digest - 2021 Raptors Trade, Draft, and Lineup

Trade

  • Raptors - 76ers - Magic
  • Jonathan Kuminga: 2021 5th Pick - Fred VanVleet - Ben Simmons
  • Matisse Thybulle - Terrence Ross - 2022 1st Rd: TOR
  • Blank - Paul Watson - 2021 2nd Rd: PHI

Lineup

  • PG - Lowry - Suggs - Flynn
  • SG - Trent - Oladipo/FA - 2nd/Nix
  • SF - Anunoby - Thybulle - Watanabe
  • PF - Siakam - Kuminga - Gillespie
  • C - Boucher - FA/Giles - 2nd/Maker

Details

I heard that Daryl Morey likes 3 point shooting. VanVleet, Ross, and Watson are all pretty great at that, while Simmons is horrible and Thybulle isn't known for shooting now either. They can also use wings who have some height to possibly play SF in Ross and Watson. Even though Watson is mostly a throw in, his 3 point shooting in the G league a couple years ago and last year in the NBA have been pretty great so he might be an interesting addition for Philly. While the Magic have a lot of good young players, they need to get going at some point with at least one real player instead of having only young guys with potential. Since they also have the 8th pick, maybe they could look at Simmons as a good young player to take a chance on for that 5th pick since Kuminga is another project who could take a while or end up a bust and isn't in that top 4 tier. They could move Isaac to SF and Simmons to PF to work well as a Draymond Green point forward with their young guards and centers in Hampton, Anthony, Fultz, Harris, Carter, and Bamba. Maybe Gary Harris to the Raptors, Tyrese Maxey to the Magic, Chris Boucher to one of the Magic or 76ers, or different draft picks could be other possibilities involved if needed to get this done by sending more to some team, but hopefully not Boucher if we don't have to of course.

For us, pretty much every single guy in that lineup is pretty good on defense, works hard, and has the potential to get better. That's how you win championships and develop players the new Raptors way under Masai. That's why I'm not super high on the Siakam for Wiseman, Wiggins, and 7th pick. Wiseman and Wiggins aren't known for their IQ, motor, hard work, and passing which we want our top players to have in spades. And I like Kuminga or Barnes with the 5th pick much, much better than who might be at the 7th pick. We can develop all of these good young players to get even better, while still having a solid team now hopefully. We're hoping that Suggs is the next Chris Paul or Jrue Holiday but a better scorer, and Kuminga is the next Pascal Siakam or even Kevin Durant, or somewhere in between.

While hoping we will win a championship with Siakam and VanVleet as our best two players might be overvaluing them, there is real potential with Suggs and Kuminga. Remember, we have never had one top pick like this under Masai Ujiri, let alone two great potential young talents to develop. This is a big potential opportunity, and to have both of those guys as bench players to start off could make a good team now. Though, the future championship team might hinge around Suggs, Kuminga, Anunoby as the main core, or whoever steps up and gets better even if it's Siakam, Trent, Thybulle, Boucher, or someone else. The potential is there, and keep in mind the idea might be to possibly trade other pieces in Lowry, Oladipo, Boucher, Trent, or even Siakam, etc. at some point to get one more potential star somehow if Oladipo or Siakam isn't that guy, to go with whoever our two or three stars are at that point. In the meantime, we have a solid team of young players to start this rebuild officially, with Lowry transitioning to the bench or being traded depending on Suggs development.

Actually, I personally like keeping Siakam with these guys and having the core of Suggs, Kuminga, Anunoby, and Siakam, along with a center which could even be Boucher in my mind possibly. A lot of length in that lineup and Kuminga could potentially have and develop the offensive skills and quickness to play SG, or Anunoby could even play SG if not. It would be interesting also because that lineup would feature 4 players with African heritage, which I think Masai would be proud of and find interesting. I am surprised with how little emphasis the media has noticed or talked about the fact that Masai has gotten many of these guys with African heritage who have been undervalued. Trading for Ibaka. Drafting Siakam and Anunoby. Picking up Boucher. It's another reason why I think he could be super high on Kuminga, as someone with even more offensive potential than any of those guys.

Ben, I was glad to see you come around on Jalen Suggs after you went and read about him after we got the 4th pick. I have a feeling the Raptors might absolutely love this guy and possibly have him 2nd on their board, ahead of both Green and Mobley. They might be ecstatic that they could get him and see it as their chance to build for the future around a pass first point guard who can also score, play great defense, and lead a winning team. I love Suggs so much I might take him first overall even though I know that sounds crazy, and I agree with you that he is a perfect Raptors pick to build around for the future. He might never be known as a top 20 player just like Lowry or Siakam, and always be underrated like every Raptor because a lot of his value comes with his defense. But his amazing defense, hard work, IQ, passing ability, team basketball, pass first approach, and winning attitude make him a potential great long term leader for this team. And he still has the talent to potentially be known as a top 10 player too, though it's a crapshoot for that with any player you pick obviously. I think he could be a real playoff starter and winner as opposed to just a regular season player, league leading scorer type, or slam dunk contest winner. Remember, we won with Lowry (Suggs) who is a great all around player who works hard and plays defense, Leonard (Anunoby) who is a great defender and also turned into a great scorer, and Siakam (Kuminga) who is athletic but also has some good offensive skills, not with Vince Carter (Jalen Green) who is a super talented offensive player who scores on his own a lot, and isn't known for defense, working hard, and wanting to win at all costs. Green should be amazing though, but he might not be there for us anyway.

Ryker, here are 3 reasons you might like Suggs and this roster more than you realize, even over Mobley or Green. If you don't like waiting to get good, I think Suggs is currently known as easily the most win now guy in the draft, and guys like him aren't often at the top of the draft. While going with a rookie in the playoffs is always risky, he has much more potential than Green, Mobley, Kuminga, or Barnes, let alone other players. Because of his solid defense and IQ, he might be able to hang in there in his first year. Remember, even our lower picks in Siakam, Anunoby, and Powell all started in the regular season on a top Raptors team in their first year, with Powell starting in the playoffs some. Why? DEFENSE, MOTOR, and HARD WORK. But Suggs also has top pick offensive potential. Personally, at this top pick I think we should go for the best long term potential player and win now shouldn't be important, so if Green or Kuminga was actually better long term I would take that chance. But I think Suggs could also be that long term all around player as well for the reasons listed above, even though I do like that Suggs is also more NBA ready too which is just a nice plus for us.

Second, you've talked about how VanVleet isn't a pass first guy, and playing VanVleet and Lowry together isn't great. Suggs is actually a perfect complement to Lowry, Flynn or even VanVleet in my mind, while also being the potential pass first playmaker and long term solution to take over from Lowry in a league dominated by great passing and shooting point guards on many of the top teams. When or if Suggs is playing together with Lowry or Flynn for now, their defense could be great together at guard, especially paired with Anunoby and Siakam at forward. But we can now have more length and strength with Suggs playing SG potentially, and still go with potential two PG lineups that have worked for us in the past with Lowry/Vazquez, VanVleet/Wright, and VanVleet/Lowry. It doesn't matter that Suggs is more of the passer. Lowry or Flynn plays PG on defense where they are good, with Suggs having better length and strength to guard SG and SF. And Suggs plays PG on offense with Flynn or even Lowry because of his playmaking ability and Kyle's shooting ability. Then Suggs is also the long term solution, so if he turns out amazing you could then trade Kyle and have Trent, Thybulle or someone else at SG, or even play Flynn and Suggs together if Flynn gets really good too and you like more playmaking.

Third, this trade has the potential to get guys back at their regular positions and have good length and rebounding, except for Boucher out of position at center. We got 3-and-D guys at SF, shooters and potential scorers at SG, scorers at PF, passers at PG, and athletic rim protectors and rebounders who can also switch onto smaller players at C. Nurse will play around a lot as always, and also because some of these guys like Kuminga, Suggs, Trent, Thybulle, and even Boucher have more versatility than previous players like VanVleet, Gasol, Valsooinawallsauce, and even Lowry. But there is potential to have more guys at their natural positions or not playing way out of position, especially if you do get a bigger center that is more talented than Boucher, or eventually trade Siakam and have Boucher and/or later Kuminga or Anunoby at PF.

As far as Boucher starting at center, I realize it seems odd and everyone worries most about getting a center or two. I don't as much. We have so many other good young players with this roster and can find centers even though they didn't do great at it last year going with the big brutes in Baynes and Len. So many things could happen before the season and Siakam is out to start off, but Boucher starting at center is my big crazy prediction and wish, even though it's not the perfect solution. In previous years I had two crazy predictions that came true. After we traded for Kawhi, everyone assumed Valanciunas would start and Ibaka would go to the bench, but right away I thought Ibaka should start along with Green because the overall defense could be amazing. It was double addition by subtraction by getting rid of DeRozan and moving Valanciunas to the bench. Getting the two worst defenders out of the starting lineup made a big difference, along with trading CJ Miles and JV later. We had enough offense even though it wasn't the best in the league, but with Ibaka and Green in the starting lineup, and later with the Gasol trade, the defense was ridiculously amazing. Then the following year everyone assumed Powell would start at SG and take over from Green, as VanVleet was a clear backup PG. But I thought VanVleet should start because he was clearly the better player, and Nurse also made that change which people thought was really odd.

It's the same thing with Boucher. If we don't get someone obviously better, which could be tough with how great Boucher has been per minute, I think we should take his weaknesses and just go with him at center alongside Siakam once Siakam is back. Boucher is still a great 3 point shooter, floor spacer, rim protector, shot blocker, very mobile big who can switch, and great rebounder. Yes he's skinny and will give up some easy baskets, backdowns, and rebounds that look bad. But Gasol, Ibaka, and Valanciunas all had their weaknesses too. Boucher is at least good at both ends of the floor unlike Gasol on offense except his passing, and Valanciunas on defense except his rebounding. I'm not sure we should leave Boucher on the bench just to start some solid rebounder big guy who can't shoot. With such good defense and length at the other spots, it might be better to have Boucher's good shooting, mobility, and offensive skills in the starting lineup.

Raptors Future Strategy And Lineup 2020

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Sports

What

  • Rebuild to the future if can get a top passing and IQ point guard in draft
  • Take on others large contracts and 1-year veterans to still be good this year
  • Open room to move Norm Powell into the starting lineup to be 2nd scorer
  • Put Lowry and VanVleet in good situations to win and make money at home

Why

  • All-in on rebuild with young players and aim for 2021 free agents or star trade
  • Open cap room for 2nd player to come with Giannis to join Siakam and Anunoby
  • Competition too good this year, take a step back to rebuild, let VanVleet etc. go
  • Need more to beat BKN, GSW, MIL, LAL, BOS, LAC as well as PHI, DAL, MIA, DEN

Trade 1 - Draft

Golden State Warriors

  • Kyle Lowry
  • Patrick McCaw

Charlotte Hornets

  • Andrew Wiggins
  • 2020 #29 Draft Pick

Toronto Raptors

  • Nicolas Batum
  • 2020 #2 Draft Pick - LaMelo Ball
  • 2020 #3 Draft Pick - Tyrese Haliburton

Trade 2 - Free Agency

Chicago Bulls

  • Fred VanVleet - Sign and trade
  • Stanley Johnson
  • Optional - Patrick McCaw - If Dunn added to deal

Toronto Raptors

  • Otto Porter Jr.
  • 2021 or 2022 1st Rd Draft Pick
  • Kris Dunn - 3 years @ $7.5M? - If keep Lowry. Trade for expiring + pick?

Free Agents

Bigs - Pick 2 or 3

  • Christian Wood - 3 years @ $10M? - Trade away later for expiring contract + pick?
  • Marc Gasol - 1 year @ $6M?
  • Aron Baynes - 1 year @ $6M?
  • Serge Ibaka - 1 year @ $20M?  - Let go to make money? Or sign and trade too?

Guards - Pick 1

  • Jeff Teague - 1 year or no
  • Danilo Gallinari - 1 year or no

2020 Lineup

Lineup Season

  • PG - Ball - Teague - Batum - Undrafted instead of Teague?
  • SG - Powell - Haliburton - Davis - Thomas
  • SF - Anunoby - Porter - Watson
  • PF - Siakam - Boucher - Brissett - Free Agent instead of Brissett?
  • C - Gasol - Wood

Lineup Playoffs

  • PG - Teague - Haliburton
  • SG - Powell
  • SF - Anunoby - Wood
  • PF - Siakam
  • C - Boucher - Gasol

Two-Way

  • Ellenson?
  • Undrafted? Free Agent? Brissett?

2021 Lineup

Lineup

  • PG - Haliburton - Ball
  • SG - Leonard - Davis
  • SF - Anunoby - Watson
  • PF - Siakam - Wood
  • C - Antetokounmpo - Boucher

Alternate

  • PG - Leonard - Ball
  • SG - Anunoby - Haliburton
  • SF - Siakam - Davis - Watson
  • PF - Boucher - Wood
  • C - Antetokounmpo

Extra - Serious Lineups, Fun Names - Nov 14th

The B.I.G. Death Lineup - Business Instead Of Game

  • PG - Leonard
  • SG - Siakam
  • SF - Anunoby
  • PF - Boucher
  • C - Antetekounmpo

The Globetrotter Lineup - Pass For The Hell Of It

  • PG - Haliburton
  • SG - Ball
  • SF - Leonard
  • PF - Siakam
  • C - Antetekounmpo

The Tall Ball Lineup : The Giant Lineup - Big Guys Got Skills Too

  • PG - Antetekounmpo
  • SG - Leonard
  • SF - Anunoby
  • PF - Siakam
  • C - Boucher

The Great Ones - Dinosaurs Go Down In History

  • PG - Ball
  • SG - Leonard
  • SF - Anunoby
  • PF - Siakam
  • C - Antetekounmpo

NBA Season And Playoffs Plan 2020

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Acts

Here is a potential idea and plan for how to finish the 2019-2020 NBA season and playoffs.

What

Teams - 20 Teams

  • 20 teams return to play
  • The top 8 teams in the East
  • The top 12 teams in the West

Exhibition - 15 Playoff Teams and Memphis

  • 4 Games - Top 1-4 teams in East play bottom 5-8 teams in West
  • 4 Games - Top 1-4 teams in West play bottom 5-8 teams in East
  • Play-In - 15 teams advance to playoffs, Memphis to Play-In

Tournament - 4 West Teams from 9-12

  • 3 Games - Teams 9-12 in the West play a round robin
  • 1 Game - Top 2 teams from round robin play single final game
  • Winner - The winner still only has a chance to make the playoffs

Play-In - Memphis and Tournament Winner

  • Best of 3 - Memphis plays tournament winner in best of 3 game series
  • 8th Spot - Play-In winner receives 8th seed in the West
  • Break - 15 playoff teams rest during 3 game play-in series

Playoffs - 16 Teams Best of 7

  • Best of 7 - Play a regular and full best of 7 game series playoffs

Why

Teams

  • Effort to come back may not be worth it for all teams
  • 9-12 teams in West are very close in standings, and to 8th place
  • 9-12 Teams in East are well behind the 8th placed team

Exhibition

  • Teams play teams they are unlikely to meet in playoffs
  • Fans will just be happy that their teams are playing games
  • Wins and player stats do not count toward 2019-2020 season

Tournament

  • 9-12 teams in West all likely desired and had chance to make playoffs
  • 9-16 teams in East had much lower likelihood and desire to make playoffs
  • A single game playoff is exciting, and teams weren't actually in playoff seed

Play-In

  • Memphis could have been caught by one of the tournament teams
  • A 3 Game series is adequate yet exciting, as 9-12 were close to 8th place
  • Play-In player stats would likely count toward 2019-2020 playoff stats

Playoffs

  • The playoff revenue may take priority over regular season games
  • Playing best of 7 gives a true winner and a regular playoff schedule
  • Full playoffs given priority even if 2020-2021 season needs shortened

Raptors And Pelicans Trade Idea 2019

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Sports

What And Why For Us - Raptors

  • Trade poor ball handlers - Miles, Anunoby, Ibaka, Valanciunas
  • Keep good ball handlers - VanVleet, Siakam, Wright
  • Trade future money to clear contracts - Lowry, Ibaka, Valanciunas, Miles
  • Keep core for chemistry, fans, future - Wright, Powell, Siakam, VanVleet
  • Gain young star player to combine with Siakam for future - Holiday
  • Gain stretch four and three point shooting for playoffs this year - Mirotic
  • Possible great team for both this year and next year with shot at title
  • Possible young stars lineup for future - Holiday, Leonard, Siakam, Davis

Trade

  • Pelicans - Raptors
  • Lowry - Davis
  • Ibaka - Holiday
  • Valanciunas - Mirotic
  • Anunoby - Hill
  • Miles - Johnson
  • 2021 1st Rd Pick - X
  • 2020 2nd Rd Pick - X

This Year

  • Holiday - VanVleet - Loyd
  • Green - Wright - McCaw
  • Leonard - Powell - Johnson
  • Siakam - Mirotic - Hill
  • Davis - Monroe - Boucher

Next Year

  • VanVleet - Loyd
  • Holiday - Wright
  • Leonard - Powell - Hill
  • Siakam - Boucher
  • Davis

What And Why For Them - Pelicans

  • Combine some current players along with some future players
  • Take poor contracts that Pelicans don't want to sweeten the deal - Hill, Johnson
  • Current players to have good team next year - Lowry, Moore, Anunoby, Randle, Ibaka
  • Future players along with Lowry or Ibaka going forward - Anunoby, Valanciunas, Picks
  • Get rid of all future contracts beyond next year, other than small Anunoby contract
  • Get potential young two way star with Anunoby and offensive threat with Valanciunas
  • Could sit Lowry and Valanciunas with injuries to increase odds of high pick in draft
  • Could trade Ibaka and/or Lowry next year - Jackson, Payton, Anunoby, Randle, Valanciunas

Edmonton Oilers Lines 2015

🙂 Human • 📁 Human Acts

What is the Oilers roster and who should play on lines together? I play armchair coach and try to make the best Oiler lines and depth chart from their current players.

After watching the majority of the Oilers games this season, I couldn't help but evaluate the players and start thinking of line combinations. So I thought I'd have a shot at what I think the Oilers and McLellan could do with their lines and roster. These lines are based on getting the most out of their current players, both for right now and looking forward to the future.

Warning - I'm Not A Scout Or Expert

OK, first of all, I do at least know Slepyshev is a left winger. And I realize moving Yakupov to play center is absolutely insane. Maybe one way to put it is that I'm not smart enough to know just how insane it is. But with that said, I'm not a purely casual watcher, or completely uninformed. Even though I'm no scout and I have never played any high level hockey, I love watching what is actually going on in the game. I've watched fairly closely at times as I've enjoyed the games this season. And I've done a bit of reading about these players in coming up with this set of lines too.

But if you think one of these ideas is stupid, you are most likely right. I'm really just another guy with an opinion. I don't know the Oilers in and out like some people who have been avid fans for the last 5 years. And I certainly don't know as much as coaches, scouts, or ex-NHLers who actually evaluate players better than I ever could. Please write your own article about all the reasons Yakupov can't play center for instance, and contact me with the link. I'd be interested in reading it. Or even better, try to write down your own full set of lines and roster. It would be neat to see how other people think the lines and depth chart of the current Oilers should be drawn up and why.

Forwards

  • Line 1 - Hall - Nugent-Hopkins - Purcell
  • Line 2 - Draisaitl - McDavid - Eberle
  • Line 3 - Pouliot - Yakupov - Letestu
  • Line 4 - Korpikoski - Lander - Slepyshev

Defense

  • Pair 1 - Klefbom - Schultz
  • Pair 2 - Nurse - Reinhart
  • Pair 3 - Davidson - Sekera

Reserves

  • Forwards - Klinkhammer - Gazdic - Hendricks
  • Defense - Fayne - Ference

Preface - I Like What McLellan Is Doing

And what is he doing? As far as I can tell, he is trying out different line combinations and making players know that there can and will be changes. Just because they play with someone doesn't mean they are in a linemate marriage which will never be broken up. Basically, you need to be able to play with different people. And he is going to try to find what combinations work best. However, he is doing that while also providing some consistency at the same time. For instance, Yakupov and Pouliot have played together a lot, even after McDavid got injured. Nugent-Hopkins and Hall have been together for quite a while.

But McLellan sure showed that he would make changes if needed. Boom. McDavid and Hall split up after the first regular season game. That was a surprise. Again, I'm not super informed, but I think he really believed in McDavid and Hall being a duo. While Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle would be another duo. He gave them the pre-season and one game together, but decisively tried something else when he felt it wasn't working well.

I won't go into a history of what all McLellan has done with line combinations this season. But I really like so many of the different changes and little adjustments he is making. Like the move to separate Hall and McDavid, putting Draisatl with Hall and Nugent-Hopkins, and Eberle coming back on the third line. The injuries aren't great. But they have allowed the team to evaluate players lower down in the depth chart early on in this Chiarelli-McLellan rebuild, or really "build" I would say. The possible lines I've layed out take into account some of the changes McLellan has already made, as well as players Chiarelli has brought into the team.

Lines 1 And 2 - Smart, Smart, Smart

OK, now the fun part. I've been thinking about different lineups since the first game. My overall idea for the team is to make the top 2 lines only have players on it that have good skill, but also really good hockey sense and passing ability. I think Hall, McDavid, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, and Draisatl all fit into that category.

In doing this, I think you are going with the Oilers strength. To continue with the move to put Draisatl, a great passer and quick thinker, on a wing on the top 2 lines instead of having him center the third line. To move Yakupov to the third line, because he can't keep up with the passing of those other players. To put another player who can think nearly as quickly as those other players with them. To not put a big checking winger as a third piece to the top line duos, but keep those big wingers for the third and fourth lines.

So, I'd try to pack those top 2 lines with great passers, maybe even more so than great skilled players. I also understand the idea of putting some of these scoring duos with a fast, capable, forechecking big man. My thinking is that the Hall/Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid/Draisatl duos are big enough and strong enough on the puck in the offensive zone that you don't have to put them with a big guy like Pouliot, Korpikoski, or Slepyshev. They are also capable defensively, with Nugent-Hopkins, as well as McDavid and Draisatl, a former center.

So I wonder if you can pack those top 2 lines with another good passer and scorer, and not have to worry about their forechecking ability or defensive ability. Someone who is more likely to make the smart pass to them, than shoot the puck every time. Or to find the open ice for a pass from them, since they are all good passers too. Someone like Purcell.

Lines 3 And 4 - Defense, Defense, Defense By Offense

This leaves the lower 2 lines to be focused more on defense. One thing about going with this strategy could be that you let your players know this fact. It gives the 3rd and 4th lines a role to live up to. They know that while they are all good players that can score, that they want to focus on defense just as much or more than offense.

So these bottom 2 lines eventually get packed with 4 big wingers who are good forecheckers. It just so happens the Oilers already have quite a few of these. Pouliot and Slepyshev, who also have speed and some scoring ability. Korpikoski, who Chiarelli traded for. Gazdic and Klinkhammer. These lines are also packed with players who have speed if possible. So they can hang with top skaters on other teams. Yakupov's speed in the middle could help with defense, and it moves a smaller player to the middle of the ice. The bigger wingers can get the puck wrung around the boards out, and hopefully be the first into the corners more often in the offensive zone. Letestu is a veteran center put with Yakupov so he can help him with the defensive side of being a center. Letestu can take the draws for now.

These lower lines should still have the ability to score though. And without having to "balance" the lines on purpose by moving great players like Eberle or Draisatl to the third line. Offense is the best defense. Having good offensive players like Yakupov and Pouliot on that third line gives you a chance to score still. All of Letestu, Yakupov, and Pouliot can put the puck in the net, without having to worry about making a lot of great passes like the gifted awareness and passing plays of the players on the top 2 lines. Dump or get the puck in the offensive end, and try to get the puck to Yakupov playing center, to beat a guy and score.

Oh, and if Yakupov playing center is just horrible, just switch him and Letestu. I still like this set of lines. If that big change doesn't work out, I'd still go with these same lines, but with Letestu centering the third line.

Balance On Lines

So I made the top 2 lines be "smart" players with great hockey sense only, and the bottom 2 lines be focused more on defense, but still with enough offense to score. However, I also ended up making these lines balanced in certain ways. There is at least one older player on each of the lines. Purcell on line 1, Eberle on line 2, Pouliot and Letestu on line 3, and Korpikoski on line 4. There is one very fast goal scorer on each line. Hall, McDavid, Yakupov, and Slepyshev. There is a great passer on each of the top 2 lines, with Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl. Of course the other 4 players on those lines are also good passers, being "smart" players who can make quick decisions. While not great passers, Letestu and Pouliot both play an overall game, and can set up Yakupov on the third line too.

There is depth at center, so any injuries can be handled easier. Draisatl and Letestu can be moved over to center. But if this works, I would strongly consider always leaving Yakupov at center, and rarely ever the wing except for special teams. I only changed the positions of Yakupov, Letestu, and Slepyshev, two of which are quite low on the depth chart right now. I guess Draisatl too who had been moved to right-wing first. But with these changes all players would now play on their correct sides. With right-handed players on RW and left-handed players on LW. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the defense. Reinhart is forced to play the off side with the decision to put Nurse and Reinhart together.

Putting so much scoring on the top two lines means that an injury to one player doesn't make the line poor offensively. You can move any big winger like Pouliot, Slepyshev, or Korpikoski up with any 2 of the top 6 players. The worst injury would be Hall, with Slepyshev or Pouliot probably moving up to play with Nugent-Hopkins and Purcell. But that is still a pretty good line, and you might play the Yakupov line a bit more if Hall goes down. Remember I'm looking towards the future too. The hope is that Yakupov and Slepyshev are only going to get better.

A Few Notes About These Lines And Roster

1. Lines For Right Now AND The Future

These line ideas have been made looking towards the future. Is Fayne better to have playing right now than Davidson? Probably. Is Hendricks a better guy to have on a 4th line than Slepyshev, and leave Slepyshev in the AHL? Yep. But I've made up this possible line list really thinking about who I would keep on the roster going forward. I was thinking about how I might pair players together even in late 2017 as much as right now. Who I think I would really want to play together a year or more from now. But this roster is also for right now. Basically these are lines that I would also go with right now.

2. Lines Assuming No Injuries Or Contracts

A luxury I have in writing an article like this is not dealing with all of the headaches of a real roster. Putting a lineup together every night is what is really tough. Especially with all of the injuries the Oilers have been dealt with this year. Mixing and matching has been done very well by McLellan. I'm looking at a bigger picture really. This set of lines and roster is made in a perfect world where there are no injuries, and no big contracts for players who you might want to leave off the roster. It's more of a depth chart of the players I think should be a part of the team. But also with an assessment of who I think would work best together based on just the games I've seen this year, and what has been tried so far by McLellan.

3. Missing Players Didn't Make The Cut

It's possible I missed someone. But for the most part, if I haven't included someone, I am not that high on them being in the roster going forward. Again, I understand that some players I have left off should really be in the lineup now, over someone like Davidson for instance. I thought about listing these players in a "Trade" or "Gone" section, but figured that would just be mean. But who I've left off of this roster says as much about my assessment of the players as who I have in the lineup. Also of note is the guys I marked as "Veteran". Those are players I would keep on the roster for now more for their experience. But I expect that younger and more talented players will replace them going forward.

Conclusion

Lines, Roster, And Depth Chart - Part 2

I was going to go into more detail, writing about each forward line and defensive pair. Explaining more of why I might put them together. For instance, why I might move Yakupov to center, put McDavid with Draisatl, or Nurse and Reinhart together. However this is quite long already, and it explains the main idea of the lines. I might write a second article some time about the ideas behind each line, including more of a scouting report for each player so far this season.

Jumping On The McBandwagon

I mentioned earlier that I'm not an expert, but just a guy with an opinion after watching many of the Oilers games so far this season. Unfortunately, I'm also not a true Oilers fan. I haven't been watching or keeping up with this team for the last few years. So I don't want to punch someone every time Yakupov gives away the puck in the neutral zone trying to stick handle around 3 people. And my Facebook status every other week for the last few years hasn't been "Hey do you think the Oilers could trade Nugent-Hopkins away for X?".  I haven't had my hopes and dreams crushed over the last decade, seeing the Oilers at the bottom of the standings again. I actually like watching all these young players. And it's been so much fun watching some NHL hockey games again, and having a team to cheer for.

But flat-out I am jumping on the bandwagon to be an Oilers fan again. I haven't watched too much hockey the last seven years or so, other than World Juniors and Olympics. I played hockey in the 80s and 90s when I was younger. I was a huge Oilers fan the whole time, growing up in the prairies. And of course Gretzky was my favorite player, along with Fleury later.

I just really wanted to watch McDavid and my old favorite team after not watching NHL hockey too much. You can kind of think of me as an informed fan, not a real true Oilers fan. Kind of like McLellan and Chiarelli deciding to go to Edmonton because they know the Oilers have a good core of young players. I've decided to check out the Oilers and join the McDavid and Oilers bandwagon. Even though they are last in the division, it's sure been fun watching them so far, even with McDavid out. Time has flown by watching them and so far I have stayed on and enjoyed the ride on the bandwagon.