NBA 2017-2018 thread

[Cusefan0307]

 

[longislandcuse]

Am I alone in thinking the Lakers young talent isn't that good?

I actually like Lonzo and his potential.

Not very high on Randle and Ingram.

Clarkson, Nance and Kuzma could all be rotation guys but not much more.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Am I alone in thinking the Lakers young talent isn't that good?

I actually like Lonzo and his potential.

Not very high on Randle and Ingram.

Clarkson, Nance and Kuzma could all be rotation guys but not much more.

A lot can change between now and next summer, but staying put in Cleveland next year must look pretty appealing right now to LeBron. He'll be 33 in two months, he's in his 15th season, unless Magic can work some magic, I can't imagine LeBron ending his career in LA.

 

[Knicks411]

Am I alone in thinking the Lakers young talent isn't that good?

I actually like Lonzo and his potential.

Not very high on Randle and Ingram.

Clarkson, Nance and Kuzma could all be rotation guys but not much more.

I think Ingram is the linchpin. He has the ability to be really good, not saying he'll get there, but he's got more potential than anyone else (save Lonzo). I tend to agree.

 

[Knicks411]

A lot can change between now and next summer, but staying put in Cleveland next year must look pretty appealing right now to LeBron. He'll be 33 in two months, he's in his 15th season, unless Magic can work some magic, I can't imagine LeBron ending his career in LA.

Lowe laid out a scenario where he goes to Houston.

 

[MikeSU02]

A lot can change between now and next summer, but staying put in Cleveland next year must look pretty appealing right now to LeBron. He'll be 33 in two months, he's in his 15th season, unless Magic can work some magic, I can't imagine LeBron ending his career in LA.

I want Ball to be good, but I just have no faith in a guard that has that form on his shooting and isn't an elite athlete, like Wall.

The only way I see Bron going to the Lakers is if they can end up with PG, Bron and at least one other piece. All the young talent is moveable.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Lowe laid out a scenario where he goes to Houston.

Paul and Harden together are one thing. Adding Lebron is another. Who plays off the ball?

 

[Melancer46]

Dillon Brooks, Simmons, and Smith are the most impressive rookies so far.

I was impressed with Markkanen, Fox, and Collins as well.

 

[longislandcuse]

Felt kinda bad for Lonzo last night because people are saying "what happened to making teammates better?"... Well, he wasn't very good but it's hard to rack up assists when your teammates not named Brook Lopez can't do anything.

 

[Knicks411]

Paul and Harden together are one thing. Adding Lebron is another. Who plays off the ball?

I would need to go back and re-read the story; he may have offered the possibility of Paul leaving as a FA? Morey may not be in love with the idea of paying Paul 5/200 or whatever his max would be.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I assumed the caviat would be bron wanting to play with CP3.

 

[Knicks411]

Ok I wasn't totally correct, here's the thing from his article

Speaking of which: Maybe we should take the Houston threat more seriously. Harden is locked up. Paul is there. Getting off Eric Gordon is easy. Snag a pick in the process, and dumping the Ryan Anderson albatross -- the one that cost them the official Team Banana Boat photographer -- becomes feasible. Trade and renounce everyone else, including potentially Paul for cap purposes, and they are close enough to the double-max for Paul and LeBron that the Texas income tax edge might come into play.

I'm sure there would be growing pains, but it's the kind of thing you need to do to beat the Warriors.

I was thinking about this when listening to the Zach Lowe/Jack McCallum podcast yesterday. It's ridiculous how well everyone on the warriors mesh. Like, if you could take one player off their big 4 and trade them for anyone else, who would you do? Obviously Lebron is the best player, so i guess you'd trade Dray for him or whatever, but Dray is the key to so much of what they do. I'm not sure you could put together 4 guys from the rest of the teams in the league that mesh as well together

 

[OrangeDW]

Am I alone in thinking the Lakers young talent isn't that good?

I actually like Lonzo and his potential.

Not very high on Randle and Ingram.

Clarkson, Nance and Kuzma could all be rotation guys but not much more.

I think Randle is solid and still getting better. He’s just starting to develop a right hand, he was all left his first two years. He’s a capable passer, and can be a matchup problem. I don’t see star though. Solid starter on a good team potential.

Ingram is the key. Very athletic and loves the game and works hard. Gotta develop into a consistent shooter. He’s potentially well rounded - he’s shown flashes of a guy who can handle, pass, defend, get to the hoop. Gotta get stronger, improve the shooting, and keep getting better. Still very young and a long way to go. He’s the key.

 

[Melancer46]

Felt kinda bad for Lonzo last night because people are saying "what happened to making teammates better?"... Well, he wasn't very good but it's hard to rack up assists when your teammates not named Brook Lopez can't do anything.

It's also hard when you just hide in the corner on the offense the entire game though. I have serious questions about how effective he'll be in the halfcourt without greatly improving his ball-handling...I'm not sure he'll ever be able to really put pressure on a defense the way a PG is supposed to outside of transition.

 

[Alsacs]

The West could eat up the Lakers.
In the East they could claw their way into the 7 or 8 seed.
Beyond Phoenix I don’t see a team worse than the Lakers.

Ingram was more disappointing than Ball last night.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Ok I wasn't totally correct, here's the thing from his article

Speaking of which: Maybe we should take the Houston threat more seriously. Harden is locked up. Paul is there. Getting off Eric Gordon is easy. Snag a pick in the process, and dumping the Ryan Anderson albatross -- the one that cost them the official Team Banana Boat photographer -- becomes feasible. Trade and renounce everyone else, including potentially Paul for cap purposes, and they are close enough to the double-max for Paul and LeBron that the Texas income tax edge might come into play.

I'm sure there would be growing pains, but it's the kind of thing you need to do to beat the Warriors.

I was thinking about this when listening to the Zach Lowe/Jack McCallum podcast yesterday. It's ridiculous how well everyone on the warriors mesh. Like, if you could take one player off their big 4 and trade them for anyone else, who would you do? Obviously Lebron is the best player, so i guess you'd trade Dray for him or whatever, but Dray is the key to so much of what they do. I'm not sure you could put together 4 guys from the rest of the teams in the league that mesh as well together

Ugh, I loathe this kind of "team building."

The thing people don't get trying to chase the Warriors is that it's not just about the stars - they have a good team. When the bench comes in it matches up against the other team's bench really well. McGee's really the only retread they've given minutes too, and they knew how to fit him into an ideal role for his skills.

I just don't see a team relying on over the hill ring chasers and scrubs filling out a roster competing with the Warriors. You need some talent throughout. Sure, the Cavs stole one because Dray went full idiot mode, Bogut was down and Curry wasn't 100%, but that's lucky. Maybe lucky is the best shot?

 

[Knicks411]

Ugh, I loathe this kind of "team building."

The thing people don't get trying to chase the Warriors is that it's not just about the stars - they have a good team. When the bench comes in it matches up against the other team's bench really well. McGee's really the only retread they've given minutes too, and they knew how to fit him into an ideal role for his skills.

I just don't see a team relying on over the hill ring chasers and scrubs filling out a roster competing with the Warriors. You need some talent throughout. Sure, the Cavs stole one because Dray went full idiot mode, Bogut was down and Curry wasn't 100%, but that's lucky. Maybe lucky is the best shot?

Lucky is pretty much the only shot. Also, one minor detail you forgot to mention: after the Cavs got lucky to beat them, the Warriors added Kevin freaking Durant!

You put Lebron/Harden/Paul on the same team, maybe they have a shot. But seriously, the Warriors are like the best team ever. It's going to be nearly impossible to beat them 4 out of 7.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Lucky is pretty much the only shot. Also, one minor detail you forgot to mention: after the Cavs got lucky to beat them, the Warriors added Kevin freaking Durant!

You put Lebron/Harden/Paul on the same team, maybe they have a shot. But seriously, the Warriors are like the best team ever. It's going to be nearly impossible to beat them 4 out of 7.

The Dubs are still the team to beat even without Durant though.

 

[Knicks411]

The Dubs are still the team to beat even without Durant though.

Sure, they won 73 games without him. I'm just saying, the Cavs needed to get lucky to beat that team, and then they added one of the 2 or 3 best players in the world. It's insane how good they are.

 

[OrangeDW]

The West could eat up the Lakers.
In the East they could claw their way into the 7 or 8 seed.
Beyond Phoenix I don’t see a team worse than the Lakers.

Ingram was more disappointing than Ball last night.

Yup. West is brutal. I didn’t even have the Clippers as a playoff team, but they certainly could be. Memphis too. Basically everyone except LA and Phoenix have a shot.

And yeah, I think the Lakers would have a shot in the East.

 

[OrangeFoo]

It's also hard when you just hide in the corner on the offense the entire game though. I have serious questions about how effective he'll be in the halfcourt without greatly improving his ball-handling...I'm not sure he'll ever be able to really put pressure on a defense the way a PG is supposed to outside of transition.

It was only one game but I have the same concerns.
- He's not athletic enough to get around NBA point guards without going so fast that he's basically out of control when he gets to the rim.
- Right now he has no midrange floater... the one he tried to throw up yesterday was a complete brick with zero touch
- His J looks completely broken... he did get one off yesterday and hit so who knows maybe it will work. He shoots from such a low release point that at some point NBA players will start swiping low and ripping it away before he releases. I tend to think the jumper needs to be completely reworked. Not sure why his dad ever let him develop up a jumper with such poor form. I learned how to shoot a J from watching the NBA and lots and lots of practice... you'd think someone whose dad was an NBA player would have an advantage there.
- he was totally unassertive... I don't think its in the Lakers best interest to let Brandon Ingram/Larry Nance/Deng/Clarkson et al dominate the ball so much yet Ball was deferring to them. He needs to have the ball in his hands like Curry does.

I did like some parts of his game however
- he wasn't afraid to mix it up on the boards... got 8 rebounds
- he played decent D
- his vision and touch on passes is elite

I think the better the talent around Ball gets the better he looks. He needs people who can actually hit shots around him.

Not sure about the Kidd comparisons... people forget that Kidd was very athletic in his younger days and he could score when he wanted to even if he wasn't a great shooter. Also Kidd, like other super stars like LeBron, Melo, Wade and Paul dominated the court form the first second he stepped on it... there was never any doubt as to who the best player was. I didn't get that feeling from Ball yesterday, although you did get that from him when he played at UCLA. The other thing to keep in mind was that Ball had Patrick Beverly, one of the best defensive guards in the league, basically face guarding him the whole game.

 

[Briancuse]

I want Ball to be good, but I just have no faith in a guard that has that form on his shooting and isn't an elite athlete, like Wall.

The only way I see Bron going to the Lakers is if they can end up with PG, Bron and at least one other piece. All the young talent is moveable.

I want to root for Ball, but his dad is such a jacka$$ that I can't.

 

[OrangeDW]

Beverley was definitely pressed to give Ball a hard time. I liked how Ball took it in stride and just played. Beverley gave him trouble but thats no big deal. Veteran good defender that’s all extra amped against a 19 year old rookie.

Obviously Ball’s jumper is a concern but yeah the midrange needs a lot of work too. He’s got work to do to be a good halfcourt player. The Lakers don’t have a lot of good shooters either, though Lopez and Ingram will certainly have better nights than that.

 

[OrangeDW]

“He’s a great talent, but he’s got to go through the tough times,” Beverley said of Ball postgame. “I just had to set the tone, man, due to all the riff-raff his dad brings. … Had to welcome his little young ass to the NBA.”

I can’t lie... I love it. The league needs more Beverleys.

 

[Alsacs]

Fultz and Simmons look weird together in the backcourt. Both want the ball in their hands and to be the PG.

Philly could have used a SG to go with Simmons.