Exum has matured! Nice pick up for Dallas

Surely Dante deserves a beast mode heading.

OK, beast mode added.

Just following Hoops tradition. Great to see him healthy and contributing.

Fantastic Dante!!

Beast Mode tag warranted

He has slowly been coming along all season, and every time he is on the court the team looks great, even when he isn't scoring. His ability to do a little bit of everything is super important.

Luka has trouble trusting some players to handle the ball, but he has been more than happy to hand off to Exum with full trust which is great to see.

Just plays so smart at all time. I think he settles into a 25 minute bench role as 6/7 man with Hardaway long term which will cost Green I think. Especially given Green has been fairly average all season so far.

@Isaac - honestly disappointed in you for not originally adding the BEAST MODE tag. Shame shame shame.

I started the thread before that final three. That really pushed things into Beast Mode territory.

Great to see him getting the opportunity and he is delivering!

Definitely puts him in the frame for a starting 5 role with the Boomers imo

@MaxM Probably consolidates this. He is ahead of Mills and Ingles if he stays healthy.

Go you good thing! Even got a hug from Mavs owner yesterday too. Am loving the confidence to take those shots. Great defence but really did get bullied by LeBron yesterday in parts.

Am hoping he hangs on to that SF position for the remainder of the season withcthe Mavs. He'd be in my Boomers starting 5 with Simmons (if healthy) , Green, Landale, and Reath - the later 3 all with decent 3 point confidence

Phew, the best thing about this is we can get rid of Giddey as a starter.

Why would there be an imperative to 'get rid of Giddey'?

McB

He held the ball too long and seemed to look for TikTok passes rather than just move the ball down the court quickly to take advantage of our athleticism. He also seemed reluctant to put up shots when left open.
We had so much athleticism and rarely used it, forcing us into too much half-court play.

Look back through the previous threads on the topic.

seemed reluctant to put up shots when left open

So in his first ever tournament, he didn't go to Tokyo, he played somewhat underwhelming, and it's time to throw the baby out with the bathwater?

"He held the ball too long and seemed to look for TikTok passes rather than just move the ball down the court quickly to take advantage of our athleticism. He also seemed reluctant to put up shots when left open."

For whom I regard to be every credible critic, it was more around
i) Coaching and rotations
ii) Mills being a black hole while attempting to shoot himself into form
iii) Not enough big men, made worse by Landale's injury.

"We had so much athleticism and rarely used it, forcing us into too much half-court play."

yes, Mills was sucking it in. Virtually every single fast break pay occured when Mills was off the court.

"Look back through the previous threads on the topic"

I did, and I can tell who knows basketball, and I can tell who watches gatorade ads.

Fair points, guys (except for the Gatorade bit) but I still think he held the ball too long for what we needed from him, and sometimes tried to do too much iso.

I definitely had issues with the coaching and think Goorj is no longer up to it.

As now a strong basketball nation we now play guys who are in form rather than play them because they showed form years ago. We put on our big boy pants and make some tough decisions. We love Patty and Ingles but they now have to move to role players at probably 10 mins a game maximum. Landale, Cooks Green, Exum, Reath and Giddey are our core. We have to have a place for Daniels with a couple of the younger guys like Toohey and Procter. Is there a place for Goulding? I say yes but not point if Goorian is coaching and not prepared to give him a run.

Goorjian has to go. He cannot coach at FIBA level. He just stood and watched Lemanis's system get us to Bronze in Tokyo and our team play at the Worlds showed that the system is forgotten. If we stay with Goorjian it is just going to be full on ISO plays. Not sure who can take over but I am sure there a couple of guys that are capable.

Magnay is the best fiba basketball style five man. You need inside presence to win in fiba style game. While Reath has been in great form in the nba, defending is not his strong point.

Now only 1 or 2 veterans should be selected. I like Mills, Ingles, Goulding, and Delly, but now it's time for the younger players.

but I still think he held the ball too long for what we needed from him, and sometimes tried to do too much iso.

I definitely had issues with the coaching and think Goorj is no longer up to it.

Mills has only played 2 games this season, can kinda see him moving to the bench in a Spurs Patty type of role.

Griddey
Exum
Green
Reath
Landale

I'm intrigued with this lineup!

Exum has continued his great stretch of play, starting against Portland on Dec 9th:

23/6/7
16/4/6
26/4/3
14/4/4
18/2/3

His only weaker game as a starter was the first one, and even 5/6/7 behind Doncic and Kyrie isn't that bad. Exum is averaging 18/4/5 in December so far.