The 2017-2018 Around the NBA thread

[95pro]

So. Did Embiid’s two years off help him? I am convinced that part of the problem with modern NBA is that players just come in too soon. Their bodies are not ready.

Maybe one year in the GLeague should be a requirement for one and doners. JJ would be benefitting and the stigma would be gone if it was required for all. Some might stay in college an extra year.

I think this really helped Blake Griffin when he broke his knee cap or whatever.

 

[Hoop Head]

He has too much responsibility to be coached that much. There's not much a coach can do besides manage the other players.

Michael Jordan was coachable because he didn't have to carry the load as much. Scottie Pippen was the best defender on the team and lead them in assists in every one of their championship seasons. Jordan could focus on scoring in the Triangle but didn't need to dominate every facet of the game at all times.

If there's one thing Lebron could improve it's being more likable to teammates. Kyrie got sick of him and Wade/Bosh did too at the end.

He's incredibly talented but there isn't really a system that he plays in, he is the system. Not many players can do ro be that but he can and that's part of the reason why they've struggled without him on the court, even with 2 other All-Stars in Cleveland in Irving and Love. Lue isn't the coach that Blatt was and he basically lets Lebron do as he pleases and when he's not on the court they're similar to D'Antoni's Suns when Nash wasn't in, just lost. Jordan was able to effect the game in numerous ways though, of course he thrived in the triangle but he was familiar with multiple systems and that's why the Bulls weren't as dependent on him as the Cav's are with Lebron. Jordan had played a few different styles, roles, and systems by the time Jackson implemented the triangle. Lebron didn't have coaches to teach him a different way to play coming up and since he jumped straight to the pros and an inept Cleveland franchise he didn't have any really good coaching for a few years and by that point he was who he is.


If you've seen Lebron play with Team USA he's basically the same player there as he is int he NBA despite virtually every other player looking different under Coach K's coaching. Like how Carmelo looks like a legit MVP player on Team USA because of how Coach K gets him playing but when Lebron is out there it's the Lebron show. That isn't terrible though because he isn't a selfish player and is a willing playmaker. That's been a knock on him his whole career though, he's not assertive enough with his own offense and he tries too hard to spread things around. When he tries taking more of a backseat altogether though things fall apart and that's coaching, Lue doesn't know how to coach without Lebron. Lebron isn't used to just adapting into a system or style either, he's used to being the system. It takes a talented player to do that and have the success he's had but with better coaching I think his numbers would be more impressive and he'd have more titles to his name.

 

[Errntknght]

I just noticed that there is a significant power shift in progress from West to East. The West has been running at +25 or so in interconference games for some time. It dropped to +16 last year and now for this year the West is -9.
There is ebb and flow during each season but this is the first time the West has gone negative for years.

 

[Russ Smith]

2 things.

NBA refs are horrible. Warriors and Sixers, Curry strips Embiid clean as can be, as he's turning to go up for a shot. They call it a foul, bad call, and then say he's not shooting, bad call. They inbound to Embiid who's still mad and he starts hammering back into Pachulia eventually knocking him over, and they call the foul on Zaza. So with the Warriors bench all over the refs they inbound to Embiid again, Zaza hacks the crap out of him, no call the Warriors get the steal. One possession 4 chances to make a call and they got all four of them wrong.

Looks like Embiid might be hurt again, tried to block Zaza's shot from behind running full speed and hit the support behind the basket very hard and had to leave the game. Was on the bench though so hopefully he's ok

 

[Russ Smith]

Embiid back in looks ok

 

[Ronin]

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[Magnus]

Can someone who watches the Lakers explain Lonzo Ball? One day he has abysmal stats, the next day a triple-double. Is he an amazing player lacking consistency who will be unstoppable later on in his career, or does his game have issues which some teams exploit, and some don't?

 

[Phrazbit]

Can someone who watches the Lakers explain Lonzo Ball? One day he has abysmal stats, the next day a triple-double. Is he an amazing player lacking consistency who will be unstoppable later on in his career, or does his game have issues which some teams exploit, and some don't?

He is the next Ricky Rubio... except maybe better on the glass, a tad worse defensively... and... if it's even possible, a worse shooter.

Among guys who are under 6'8" he might be the worst shooter in the entire league. His shot does not merely need work, it's broken... beyond broken, somehow the Lakers need to get him to learn an entirely new shooting technique if he is going to be a star. He has a tremendous basketball IQ, but his shot is so freaking terrible that he will never even sniff decent shooting stats unless he completely reworks it.

 

[Russ Smith]

Can someone who watches the Lakers explain Lonzo Ball? One day he has abysmal stats, the next day a triple-double. Is he an amazing player lacking consistency who will be unstoppable later on in his career, or does his game have issues which some teams exploit, and some don't?

He's young and not strong enough to consistently finish at the rim against NBA guys. in college he shot nearly 70 percent in the paint because most college teams don't have big strong guys in there and they don't allow the contact they do in the NBA. So in college if you dared him to go right, he'd go the rim and either score or kick it out, now he goes right but he's struggling to finish.

Tonight he only had 11 points, but he had several finishes where nobody got enough body on him. The rebounds, the assists, the steals the blocks those are all legit talent, the big issue is shooting.

There's a video of him at practice hitting I think 14 threes in a row in a drill, he CAN shoot but in games he's missing them and lost his confidence.

He will eventually be a good player but he has to get stronger, and tweak his shot so he's able to shoot going right. Won't be easy but he'll get there. Been a tough year for him between his moms stroke, his dads big mouth and Gelo's stupidity in China he's had a ton of off the court stuff to deal wtih in addition to being a rookie with too much expectations.

 

[95pro]

His dad just hyped him up so much, the media bought it...now we think he should be doing better. But he's probably where he should be considering his lack of strength and shooting like a lefty with his right.

 

[gimpy]

I don't watch much bb anymore, but from what little I have seen of him, I wish we had someone like him to run our offense for us.

 

[Chaplin]

How good is that coaching staff at developing players? Outside of Ingram, who have they developed? Kuzma appears to be ready out-of-the-box, so he shouldn't count.

You have to wonder what Ball would be like with a coach like Popovich.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

How good is that coaching staff at developing players? Outside of Ingram, who have they developed? Kuzma appears to be ready out-of-the-box, so he shouldn't count.

You have to wonder what Ball would be like with a coach like Popovich.

I don't think Walton is a bad coach. He just got there basically and inherited a crap team, so tough to judge this soon. Popovich would probably tell Ball to never shoot...just drive and kick out lol.

 

[JCSunsfan]

How good is that coaching staff at developing players? Outside of Ingram, who have they developed? Kuzma appears to be ready out-of-the-box, so he shouldn't count.

You have to wonder what Ball would be like with a coach like Popovich.

Ball has flaws that are not about coaching. He has that broken shot, which allows players to lay off him on defense. That hinders his ability to drive. He has average athleticism. That was exposed in the Suns game where Booker took him to school often. He has great vision and moves the ball up the court, but without some other skill, he will struggle.

Add to that the distraction of his family, and he is going to have a hard time for a while. Ball is not a BAD player, I am just not sure he will be a great player.

 

[Chaplin]

Ball has flaws that are not about coaching. He has that broken shot, which allows players to lay off him on defense. That hinders his ability to drive. He has average athleticism. That was exposed in the Suns game where Booker took him to school often. He has great vision and moves the ball up the court, but without some other skill, he will struggle.

Add to that the distraction of his family, and he is going to have a hard time for a while. Ball is not a BAD player, I am just not sure he will be a great player.

Broken shots can be fixed.

 

[Russ Smith]

His dad just hyped him up so much, the media bought it...now we think he should be doing better. But he's probably where he should be considering his lack of strength and shooting like a lefty with his right.

I don't think people actually thought he was as good as his dad said I think part of it was he went 2nd, to the Lakers. Hometown team his dream, and then they move Russell to make room for him and Magic says someday we expect to see his jersey up there retired with the others, and more banners. That created expectations that probably weren't fair to put on him that early.

If he works hard he'll be ok, he's been a great kid to date in spite of his dad, i hope he's able to spend this offseason working with the Lakers and trainers etc and work on his weaknesses.

I see glimpses of the Lonzo we saw at UCLA but as the OP said he'll have one triple double game, and then 2-3 games where he is so passive.

Guys on UCLA boards were ripping him for not getting involved in teh dustup with the Suns. He walked by before it happened and then once it started up, people think he should have come off the bench to "stand up for his teammates." I took that as it was a fake fight, he probably thought since he was already off teh court if he came back on he'd get suspended(?) but some UCLA fans were saying it makes him look bad with his teammates. I think if he weren't Lonzo Ball, but say Jordan Clarkson, nobody even notices that.

But that's his dads fault and unfortunately he has to live with it.

 

[Russ Smith]

Broken shots can be fixed.

and Pop has the best shooting coach in the NBA in Chip Engelland.

 

[Ronin]

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[JCSunsfan]

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Booker has almost 4 full seasons to catch that record. He just turned 21 in October. He has 290 already. Had 143 last season. He needs 410 more.

 

[Mainstreet]

Paul Millsap will need surgery on his left wrist and he will reportedly be out indefinitely.

Adrian Wojnarowski reports Millsap's surgery will be to repair a torn ligament and could force him to miss three months.

Millsap is in Year 1 of a three-year, $90 million deal with the Nuggets.

It appears the Suns dodged another bullet.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/248119/Paul-Millsap-To-Undergo-Surgery-On-Left-Wrist

 

[JCSunsfan]

Paul Millsap will need surgery on his left wrist and he will reportedly be out indefinitely.



It appears the Suns dodged another bullet.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/248119/Paul-Millsap-To-Undergo-Surgery-On-Left-Wrist

Yep. McD has managed to avoid bad contracts. BK is the lone exception.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yep. McD has managed to avoid bad contracts. BK is the lone exception.

I didn't understand the Suns interest in Paul Millsap anyway.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I didn't understand the Suns interest in Paul Millsap anyway.

Me neither. But the “we gotta win now crowd” woulda loved his signing

 

[Raindog]

Me neither. But the “we gotta win now crowd” woulda loved his signing

Yup... and stuff like this is why I am glad McD is disregarding that sentiment. So much smarter to be building with young players even if it takes time to see the full benefits.

 

[BC867]

Me neither. But the “we gotta win now crowd” woulda loved his signing

Y'know, there is a difference between "we gotta win now" and poker posting regularly that he is rooting for the Suns to lose. That gets depressing.

The Suns leadership is so inefficient that they can't even plan how to build for the future without turning the Suns into the laughingstock of the league.

BTW, I was curious just how much of the Suns Robert Sarver owns. He owns 30%. Here is the article from the time of the sale.

Sarver said he will own about 30 percent of the team. He has lined up a slate of investors that he said includes several local figures: Dale Jensen, a major investor in the Diamondbacks who is now increasing the size of his investment in the Suns; Steve Hilton, co-chief executive of The Meritage Corp.; Sam Garvin, CEO of Continental Promotion Group; Francis Najafi, CEO of The Pivotal Group; and Scott Seldin, whose father previously was a business partner of the Sarver family.

Other investors include Tom Rogers of Tucson, who heads R &R Products; Richard Heckmann of San Diego, CEO of K-2 Inc., a major sporting goods firm, plus two others from San Diego who wish to remain low-key, Sarver said.

Under terms of the deal, 65 percent of the price is set to be paid today, the rest in three years.

During those three years, a six-member management committee that includes Suns chairman Jerry Colangelo and Sarver will make decisions, with Colangelo having the right to break any ties.

http://www.nba.com/suns/news/tribune_040630.html

I am curious if the six-member management committee referred to in the final sentence (perhaps now five-member with Colangelo gone) has been making major decisions or if Sarver (from his foam finger attention-getter to the decision to sit Bledsoe, who was bound to react negatively) has steamrolled the rest of the investors. If that is the case, shame on them. Sarver produced only 30% of the money to purchase the team.