NBA 2017-2018 Season

[gunnar hendershow]

I think a lot of that comes down to coaching. Lonzo has his strengths and he can play PG really well. But he'll probably never be more than a 15 ppg kind of guy. Modern NBA wants PGs to also be lead scorers though, which works against him.

[Pooker]

Rockets have scored 90 points in the first half against the Suns. Harden had 33 points and only taken 12 shots. Good hell.

And the Celtics won their 14th straight game, beating the Warriors tonight.

[gunnar hendershow]

Sixers destroyed the Warriors in the 1st half last night and still lost. I've never seen a team where I can check the score at anytime before the 4th quarter and go "Oh they're not out of it."

[Twist]

1 hour ago, damshow said:

Sixers destroyed the Warriors in the 1st half last night and still lost. I've never seen a team where I can check the score at anytime before the 4th quarter and go "Oh they're not out of it."

They were up 24 early in the 3rd and were down 10 by the end of the 3rd. Warriors just flicked a switch and it was done.

That said, Philly have all the tools to be an elite team in the league. Covington is having a lights out year, Simmons is so special and Embiid is from another planet. I’m not surprised at the end of the year if they take the 4 seed.

[Benjamin]

Simmons and Embiid is such a fucking sick combination. Philly might become a championship contender in the next couple of years. Only took them 6 or 7 years of lottery drafts!

[Benjamin]

I really like Victor Oladipo's music 

[Pooker]

Embiid is a bitch and Ben Simmons is GOAT.

[Benjamin]

That flop by Russ was Oscar-worthy 

Boogie's reaction was priceless. Feel gutted for him.

[VerbalPuke]

Damn, Cleveland lit the Pistons asses up last night. 

[Monkey D. Lars]

I'm ready for an OKC - Warriors play off series!

[Your Mom]

I actually watched Kings/Lakers last night and like is Lonzo Ball just bad? Or is he overwhelmed in the NBA or something? Outside of a cool alley oop he just sucked it up the whole game. Like what did teams see in him?

[JasonM]

8 minutes ago, The Chiksrara Special said:

I actually watched Kings/Lakers last night and like is Lonzo Ball just bad? Or is he overwhelmed in the NBA or something? Outside of a cool alley oop he just sucked it up the whole game. Like what did teams see in him?

Defense, playmaking, and an above-average offensive game.

Right now, he's just a taller Rajon Rondo, with the personality problems being his toxic father.

His shooting stroke is atrocious, it's ridiculously mechanical and anti-smooth, and you can see the further he gets into games the worst it gets because exhaustion messes up his shots even more. In college he got away with it because the level of play is significantly worse, but on the NBA level where defenders are crafty and smart he just can't stack up.

He's got plenty of upside, but as long as his shooting stroke isn't up to snuff he'll be on the level of Rajon Rondo, and not in a good way.

Meanwhile his college grad rookie teammate Kuzma is scoring 17 a game and grabbing rebounds whilst being an undersized power forward.

[gunnar hendershow]

Again the biggest problem with Lonzo is the style of basketball being played in the NBA right now versus the style of basketball he's good at. Once upon a time a PG who was good on defense and playmaking but couldn't shoot was popular and even sought after. But that's changed so much, it started with Iverson and really escalated with Westbrook, Curry, etc. If teams don't fear the shot of the lead ball handler they'll disrupt the playmaking abilities of the whole team. But, yeah, he's looking like a Rondo where you need to stock the team with talent for him to really shine.

If Ball were faster he could morph into a John Wall type player. But since he's not you have to hope he hits a Jason Kidd ceiling and not a Rajon Rondo (a poor man's Jason Kidd if ever there was one) level.

[JasonM]

Yeah, you explained it a bit better than me.

Right now, Lonzo isn't dynamic enough a point guard to really have a future as a 'star' in the league. The league's built on Point Guards that can do a bit of everything, crazy athleticism and just the ability to score as well as they can pass. There's the hyper-athletic guys like Westbrook and Wall who can tear defenses apart and either score or find the open man

And there's a freak scorer in Steph Curry whose insane shooting skills (and being surrounded by other scoring machines) allows him to tear apart a defense purely because his presence forces him to be covered by one guy at all times, and even then he's an amazing player off-the-ball and never stops moving around, so he'll cause mismatches.

Lonzo needs the ball in his hands to be effective, but defenders don't need to be on him to stop him, so they slack off and cover the passing lanes.

DSJ seems like the most standout modern PG from this years draft, which makes me very happy as a Mavs fan. De'Aaron Fox is another kid who can grow into that elite status if he adds an offensive game to his crazy athleticism and defensive ability.

[JasonM]

 

So yeah, D-Rose is contemplating retirement, and it really just shows you how much injuries have messed with his career not just on the court but off the court as well.

Dude was a MVP, an unstoppable force of a Point Guard before Curry and Westbrook were beasting. And whilst he still gets up very efficient numbers (14PPG on .488 eFG%), I can imagine that the fact that he's continouosly getting injured is just deflating for a guy who knew how good he used to be. He barely gets assists too, which shows you how much he's become a pure scorer because he simply can't tear apart defenses and cause mismatches.

Also, crazy things to imagine is that he's 6 months younger than Curry, a week older than KD, a month older than Westbrook, and a year older than Harden.

He's 29 and his peak is already behind him, and whilst he's not Brandon Roy levels of broken, I guess he sees the writing on the wall in knowing that his physique is only going to go further downhill.

It would really be a shame if he retired, he can get a ring with the Cavs and I feel he's one of those guys that deserve a ring before he's done. But at the same time, I can't blame him if he walks away and not be in a wheelchair in a few decades.

[Pooker]

I wonder if he could do a football player like retirement. Take a year off and come back after that. He still seems to have a lot to offer.

As does Deron Williams who seems content to just sit on the sidelines, staying in shape, and waiting for that perfect offer to come along.

[Tyrone]

Pau needs to be in the 3-point contest

[Benjamin]

Where was this Pau and LA last season 

[VerbalPuke]

Detroit knocked off Boston last night. This team is playing alright, might have been Andre Drummonds best game of his career. And again, free throws are still going down. He actually looks confident at the line and his shooting touch at the line just looks way better than ever.

[Pooker]

LeBron James just got ejected from a game for the first time in his career.