Do Ayton's comments concern you?

[Hoop Head]

I'm very skeptical how good Roberson will be having had the same injury he did but then he's half my age and from what I've read he only had 1 tear not a top and bottom tear like I did. I've asked both my surgeon and my PT folks about him and they all said while they think he can and probably will get back to the NBA, they don't think he'll ever be the same sort of explosive athlete. Quickness is really important on defense it will be interesting to see how much he has left.

I'm pulling for him though.

I didn't see Booker in the video but I didn't watch the whole thing.

Roberson is a guy that is known as a gritty defender so I think he'll be fine. Even if he lost some speed and quickness the ref's will let him get away with more than they would other people because he has that reputation. That's just the way the NBA refs call games and it may not be fair or right but it happens. That should help him get close to where he was pre-injury. He was never an offensive player either so it won't hurt him on that side of the ball. It's all in how he adjusts to it and I think he's smart enough to be able to make up for his drop in speed by making a little more contact. I definitely wouldn't give up on him yet. He's not as physical as a Bruce Bowen but Bowen's last few years in the league he was slow as could be but could still shut some guys down, without getting whistles that others would have received also. At worst, I see Roberson ending up similar to that.

 

[Russ Smith]

That will be interesting to see this year, a jacked up Westbrook. That may help him absorb more contact when he drives to the basket, similar to how Lebron can muscle through contact easily. I think the Thunder will be much better without Melo this year and if Billy Donavon can actually create a solid rotation where everyone buys in they could play the spoiler role next postseason. I thought they might do that last year also but with Roberson going down and Melo becoming more worthless as the year went on, they fell apart. They did play well against the Warriors and Rockets though. They went 2-2 against GS and 2-1 against the Rockets.

Without Melo, Paul George will be able to establish himself as their #2 behind Russ and they'll probably move Jerami Grant to their starting 5 as their PF and having Roberson's defense will be big for them. They have a decent bench on paper also, with Schroeder, Patrick Patterson, and Nerlens Noel. They have the pieces to be a good defensive team and they'll need to be in order to challenge either the Rockets or Warriors. This is pretty much the last year I think they'll be able to face the Warriors with an angry Westbrook also. The longer he and KD have been separated the less of an issue it seems they have with each other. Seeing Russ vs the Warriors in the playoffs could make for a great series.

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Forgot to post the link last night. People are speculating Westy has put on at least another 10 pounds of muscle.

 

[Mainstreet]

Forgot to post the link last night. People are speculating Westy has put on at least another 10 pounds of muscle.

Westbrook was already pure muscle. I'm not sure adding more muscle helps him much.

 

[Russ Smith]

Westbrook was already pure muscle. I'm not sure adding more muscle helps him much.

And it also starts to trigger some red flags with me. When a guy that ripped suddenly gets that much bigger I always get suspicious. I know Westbrook is a very hard worker but makes me wonder.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

And it also starts to trigger some red flags with me. When a guy that ripped suddenly gets that much bigger I always get suspicious. I know Westbrook is a very hard worker but makes me wonder.

Shades of David Boston

 

[Mainstreet]

And it also starts to trigger some red flags with me. When a guy that ripped suddenly gets that much bigger I always get suspicious. I know Westbrook is a very hard worker but makes me wonder.

This is want went through my mind as well.

 

[Krangodnzr]

And it also starts to trigger some red flags with me. When a guy that ripped suddenly gets that much bigger I always get suspicious. I know Westbrook is a very hard worker but makes me wonder.

Shades of David Boston

I don't see it. Sure he is jacked, but he doesn't have that roid monkey look or HGH look.

 

[Krangodnzr]

There is an unstated fact that amongst the infantry in the Army, roid use is extremely high, so I've seen a lot of roid monkeys in my day. This was especially true in Iraq, where Iraqi interpreters were buying roids out in Baghdad and sneaking them on base for Soldiers to use. The Army doesn't test for steroids unless command directed, so it's fairly easy to get away with using them.

 

[Raindog]

And it also starts to trigger some red flags with me. When a guy that ripped suddenly gets that much bigger I always get suspicious. I know Westbrook is a very hard worker but makes me wonder.

Nothing suspicious at all. I heard he's just been training with Mike Bibby this off-season.

 

[elindholm]

Nothing suspicious at all. I heard he's just been training with Mike Bibby this off-season.

With mid-workout entertainment provided by Carrot Top.

 

[GatorAZ]

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Forgot to post the link last night. People are speculating Westy has put on at least another 10 pounds of muscle.

Simmons is a ridiculous athlete for his size. If he ever develops just an average shot he is going to be a problem.

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[GatorAZ]

I don't see it. Sure he is jacked, but he doesn't have that roid monkey look or HGH look.

Lauri looking good too.

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[Russ Smith]

Simmons is a ridiculous athlete for his size. If he ever develops just an average shot he is going to be a problem.

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Taking it to Bagley in some of those highlights.

 

[Russ Smith]

Lauri looking good too.

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He makes more sense though he was very skinny before he got to America, you could see him getting stronger at Arizona on a weight program and so it's not surprising that he's filling out like that.

Westbrook did the same thing at UCLA came in really skinny and then got stronger and you could see the huge jump in his game as a result. But he's almost 30 now it just always makes me wonder when a guy who was already that jacked, gets that much bigger in one offseason. Guys like Lauri who really haven't been lifting all that long it makes sense, guys who've been doing it for 10 years now I get suspicious.

 

[Chaplin]

Lauri looking good too.

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All I know is that I’d love to play in that gym.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Lauri looking good too.

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Holy Ivan Drago!

 

[Cheesebeef]

Simmons is a ridiculous athlete for his size. If he ever develops just an average shot he is going to be a problem.

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he's already a problem. If he ever develops just an average shot he's going to be the best player in the NBA.

 

[Phrazbit]

Luckily for the rest of the league I don't think they have to worry about him learning to shoot.

http://nbasavant.com/player.php?player_id=1627732

Away from the rim he is one of the worst shooters in the entire league. He has yet to make a 3 in his career despite defenses not bothering to defend him when he strays more than 15 feet from the hoop.

 

[Superbone]

I don't know much about his private life beyond his interest in cartoons but I'm pretty sure his past-time included horrible interviews with Jim Rome and others.

Know what I'm sayin'?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Know what I mean?

Been there, heard that. He might have been the worst interview ever. And yet, I will always have a soft spot for the guy.

 

[Finito]

Lauri looking good too.

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Lauri is going to be a problem. I didn't want him coming into the draft but good lord he looked like the real deal. He's the perfect stretch 4

 

[Mainstreet]

Lauri is going to be a problem. I didn't want him coming into the draft but good lord he looked like the real deal. He's the perfect stretch 4

I think a lot of us (including myself) never thought Lauri would develop physically the way he has. We all knew he was 7 foot and could shoot. If he had this body coming into the draft, more teams would have had interest in him.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think a lot of us (including myself) never thought Lauri would develop physically the way he has. We all knew he was 7 foot and could shoot. If he had this body coming into the draft, more teams would have had interest in him.

I really doubt it. He's filled out even more but he had a pretty good body as it was. It's not like he was Bender or anything like that (or even remotely close to that). He lifted regularly going into his freshman season, added quite a bit of upper body muscle, and that had a lot to do with why he wore down in the middle of the season.

 

[Mainstreet]

I really doubt it. He's filled out even more but he had a pretty good body as it was. It's not like he was Bender or anything like that (or even remotely close to that). He lifted regularly going into his freshman season, added quite a bit of upper body muscle, and that had a lot to do with why he wore down in the middle of the season.

I didn't think Lauri would be able to hold his ground inside and rebound the way he has. He has been a pleasant surprise. I thought he would play more like Channing Frye which is not meant to be a knock on Frye.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I didn't think Lauri would be able to hold his ground inside and rebound the way he has. He has been a pleasant surprise. I thought he would play more like Channing Frye which is not meant to be a knock on Frye.

He was already a rich man's Frye in his freshman season. As I mentioned, in preparation to play center he added a fair amount of muscle going into the season but it was clear he had the frame to add even more. I'm not sure but I think he slimmed down a bit during the season though as he was needed to play the 4 mostly along with some time at the 3.

He wasn't bulky at any point but he was still a very well built young man, not skinny at all. IMO, teams passed on him not because of anything he did or didn't do in college but primarily because so often in the past this type of player (white Euro, finesse, outside shooter) has been a disappointment. It was easy to assume he might follow in their footsteps.