Luke Walton nice job on the 2 for 1 before halftime. Not sure how the Lakers are in this game, Philly's Big 3 (Embid, Simmons, Covington) are worlds better than anything the Lakers have to offer. This should be a blowout.
14 offensive rebounds have given the Lakers 14 more FGA than the Sixers. Combine the extra possessions with shooting 5-19 from 3 while turning the ball over 5 more times than the Lakers and there you have it.Luke Walton nice job on the 2 for 1 before halftime. Not sure how the Lakers are in this game, Philly's Big 3 (Embid, Simmons, Covington) are worlds better than anything the Lakers have to offer. This should be a blowout.
He looks like he weighs about 160 LBSBrandon Ingram might well have the most ugly style of play while still being effective of anyone in the NBA.
Sixers will be dangerous when they care enough to box out on defence and take care of the ball. got ya14 offensive rebounds have given the Lakers 14 more FGA than the Sixers. Combine the extra possessions with shooting 5-19 from 3 while turning the ball over 5 more times than the Lakers and there you have it.
He is aggressively bad from two too. 35.7% from inside the arc. No es bueno.Really my first time watching a full LA game. Ball from 3 is... aggressively bad.
Kuzma was a find no doubt but PG's usually do take time to find consistency in this league especially the one-and-done guys. In Ball's first 13 career games since he just turned 20, he's already put up a 29/11/9 and a 19/13/12/3/3. His future is looking pretty good.Kuzma>Ball?
Right now not even close. Can Ball improve dramatically?
To my eyes, he’s awful in every phase except passing ability
Simmons is a rookie averaging 18/9/7/2 while able to create and make his own shot whenever he wants while shooting 49.7% from the field.......his touch and finishing ability in the paint is already elite. The lack of a perimeter shot is being severely overstated. Only an injury should prevent Simmons from being a HOFer.If Simmons can learn to shoot just a bit, he’s a HOFer
Brad and the Celtics may throw a kink in those plans.If Fultz is good then only health can stop Philly from dominating next decade.
+1. He's been terrific and he knows it (he said recently he should've gone top 5 in the draft).Kuzma is going to turn out to be the steal of what likely was a very deep draft. And I say that as a huge fan of both Semi and Bell. Kuzma is already an impact player.
Don't know anything about a website called "NBA Math," but it has a statistic called "defensive points saved" and has Ball as second among rookies behind Simmons. See: https://nbamath.com/2017-18-nba-tpa/.Right now not even close. Can Ball improve dramatically?
To my eyes, he’s awful in every phase except passing ability
Yea, it can't be because of Lopez, cause he is not anything more than a big body down there who offers a little bit of rim protection. I think their good defense is still SSS stuff and when opponents shots start falling, they will be a slighlty below average defenseLA's defense has been way better this year. Not sure why since I don't see much of their games but it can't just be because of Lopez.
Chamberlain likely had lots of these since they didn't count blocks back then--you gotta figure the years he averaged 50/25, 45/24 and 36/22/5 that he had a bunch. He had about 100 games were blocks were recorded and averaged 8.8/game (https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tTIVEWsAP14/VkFK-IE7GHI/AAAAAAAAHSo/n_u04_ScpoQ/s0-Ic42/Wilt%2520blocked%2520shots.jpg)First 46/15/7/7 game in league history, career highs in all four for Embiid.
The backcourt is completely overhauled with Ball and Caldwell-Pope replacing Russell and Nick Young while sliding Clarkson to the second unit so the cultural change begins right here in replacing a couple turnstiles with good positional perimeter defenders. The other thing is that these players are competing to win games as the front office is not tanking as they did last year by trading and shutting down healthy veterans.Don't know anything about a website called "NBA Math," but it has a statistic called "defensive points saved" and has Ball as second among rookies behind Simmons. See: https://nbamath.com/2017-18-nba-tpa/.
LA's defense has been way better this year. Not sure why since I don't see much of their games but it can't just be because of Lopez.
Heh, I dunno about that. He is a decent player but he's close to a finished product. My steal of the draft so far is John Collins and it's not particularly close.+1. He's been terrific and he knows it (he said recently he should've gone top 5 in the draft).
Great points — the age aspect and Bulls/Ws analogies are a stretch. The questions about fit, chemistry and depth (relative to the stand pat option) remain.The Rockets were not especially young last year. Their top 5 guys in minutes played last year were Harden (27), Ariza (31), Gordon (28), Anderson (28), and Beverely (28). There's a lot of reasons the 1991 Bulls won, but among them was that Pippen and Horace Grant were both still on the upswing (24 years old in 1990) and hadn't peaked yet. The same is true of the Warriors: Klay was 23, Curry was 25, Barnes was 21, and Draymond was 23. Plus the Warriors fired Mark Jackson...
This top 5 cutoff misses some younger guys like Clint Capela or Dekker, but the core pieces of the Rockets were in their primes last year already (if not past them with Ariza or Anderson). I'm fine just running the same team out there again if your core is still improving, but that's not the Rockets.
In what world is a 3-year college player who didn't even play that first year, is a 22 year old rookie with 15 NBA games under his belt a finished product? Kuzma hasn't even met the rookie wall or his first NBA offseason yet while making major leaps in each of the past 3 summers.Heh, I dunno about that. He is a decent player but he's close to a finished product. My steal of the draft so far is John Collins and it's not particularly close.
In a world where every other player is 1 and done. He has limited upside.In what world is a 3-year college player who didn't even play that first year, is a 22 year old rookie with 15 NBA games under his belt a finished product? Kuzma hasn't even met the rookie wall or his first NBA offseason yet while making major leaps in each of the past 3 summers.
Here's an article that discusses some of DET's changes: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fancy-stats/wp/2017/11/13/how-the-pistons-put-last-seasons-issues-behind-them-to-once-again-become-an-east-threat/?utm_term=.010bc4a384b2.I am genuinely curious about the Piston. Top 4 record in league, beaten a few good teams (GSW and LAC).
Are they for real, or what (of course one could you say the same about the celts start)?
1 and done has nothing to do with it. He's a clear late bloomer after not being highly regarded out of HS, sitting his entire freshman year on the Utah bench as a stringbean and then making massive gains each of the past 3 years while his body still isn't fully developed. He has the physicals to support a very high upside and has taken another leap since the draft. Your response implies that simply because he didn't come out at 19 he won't improve much more despite everything pointing to him doing so.In a world where every other player is 1 and done. He has limited upside.
Otto Porter? I can see Kuzma as a backend All-Star like Porter. They have similar growth trends in that each was very skinny and took time to fill out while making leaps each offseason.....should this continue, and I don't see why it couldn't as he has the physicals to support this growth, I expect him to be close to that league. For those who place high value in FT shooting to determine future 3-point potential Kuzma has gone from 56% to 62% to 67% at Utah.....to 82% as a rookie this year.What do people think Kuzma's upside potential is exactly?
Talk to me when Kyle Kuzma can hit even 33% of his 3 point shots before comparing him to Otto Porter.Otto Porter? I can see Kuzma as a backend All-Star like Porter. They have similar growth trends in that each was very skinny and took time to fill out while making leaps each offseason. For those who place high value in FT shooting to determine future 3-point potential Kuzma has gone from 56% to 62% to 67% at Utah.....to 82% as a rookie this year.
I’m with you on Collins. I’ve been to two Hawks games so far (including last night against the Kings) and in both cases he’s had some crazy dunks. Two last night. He’s shown good rebounding ability and a nice touch around the rim. Excellent athlete for a big.Heh, I dunno about that. He is a decent player but he's close to a finished product. My steal of the draft so far is John Collins and it's not particularly close.
Said differently, the Rockets scored more points than the Warriors scored all night... in the first half!90-65 at the half, lol.
And he has a dislocated shoulder and will probably miss extended time.He was a helluva college player at Utah. I remember being interested in him for the Celtics, but he went a couple of spots after Rozier. He was old for rookie, but great college production. Seems like the Raptors believe in him, they've stuck with him through some injuries and picked up his option.
Yeah, but I'm sure John Wall says they're the team to beat!The Wiz are getting embarrassed at home, down 50-29 at half time.
Minus Gobert? yeah, UT is really bad.Brooklyn up 39-24 vs the Jazz. Might be time to start worrying about the Jazz being really bad, or at least Laker bad.