The 2018-2019 Around the NBA thread

[JCSunsfan]

Maybe some, but he was always bigger and stronger than people gave him credit for. I don't think he needs an offense tailored to him. He is a hell of an offensive player. If he can shoot well consistently, he will be unstoppable in any offense.

Looking at that thickness around the middle I would say bigger, but not necessarily stronger. Luka needs to drop a few.

 

[Hoop Head]

Maybe some, but he was always bigger and stronger than people gave him credit for. I don't think he needs an offense tailored to him. He is a hell of an offensive player. If he can shoot well consistently, he will be unstoppable in any offense.

I remember him being shaped less like Dudley. I know he bulked up some last year as the draft got closer but that was muscle, generally, and it looks like he's camouflaged whatever muscle he might have added. A Dudley comparison is too harsh though. He looks like training camp PJ Tucker and before the draft he looked more like trade deadline Tucker, ready to contribute.

 

[SirStefan32]

Looking at that thickness around the middle I would say bigger, but not necessarily stronger. Luka needs to drop a few.

That can be said of any Euro coming into the NBA unless they are really not physically developed yet. European players really don't work out to build muscle. Even the best teams in Europe don't have great strength programs. I've seen him play enough to be confident that he is bigger AND stronger than he looks.

 

[Superbone]

Methinks Doncic is enjoying American food.

 

[Raindog]

Did he put on some weight over the summer? I see what people were saying about him being a player like Turkoglu now. His build is very similar. He looks taller also but that could just be seeing him with NBA players finally. He may be a solid player but he'll need an offense tailored to him to truly be effective. There's a good chance that a team tailored to him won't be much of a contender either so who knows what his ceiling ends up being.

Yeah, Doncic is already looking like what I thought he might be - basically, bigger than advertised, slower than advertised, skilled but not athletic. Yes, he will likely be a contributor at the NBA level... decent or even good, perhaps... but not "game changing" or even particularly extraordinary. He is a good passer for a big kid, and an okay shooter. He isn't going to be schooling NBA defenders, and is going to be a below average defender.

What he is NOT is Magic Johnson and Larry Bird rolled into one. Maybe a huskier Toni Kukoc with more playmaking ability.

 

[SirStefan32]

Yeah, Doncic is already looking like what I thought he might be - basically, bigger than advertised, slower than advertised, skilled but not athletic. Yes, he will likely be a contributor at the NBA level... decent or even good, perhaps... but not "game changing" or even particularly extraordinary. He is a good passer for a big kid, and an okay shooter. He isn't going to be schooling NBA defenders, and is going to be a below average defender.

What he is NOT is Magic Johnson and Larry Bird rolled into one. Maybe a huskier Toni Kukoc with more playmaking ability.

He is schooling NBA defenders already. And a "huskier Toni Kukoc with more playmaking ability" is one hell of a player.

 

[Raindog]

He is schooling NBA defenders already. And a "huskier Toni Kukoc with more playmaking ability" is one hell of a player.

I get that you are buying into the hype. I am not. I still think he tops out as maybe a 15-5-5 guy... maybe. And he is probably going to get even chunkier as he fills out his frame, which will eventually result in him being even less dynamic.

But of course, even at that, the true believers will still be insisting he's the "greatest 15-5-5" guy ever.

 

[GatorAZ]

Did he put on some weight over the summer? I see what people were saying about him being a player like Turkoglu now. His build is very similar. He looks taller also but that could just be seeing him with NBA players finally. He may be a solid player but he'll need an offense tailored to him to truly be effective. There's a good chance that a team tailored to him won't be much of a contender either so who knows what his ceiling ends up being.

What stood out to me is how tall he looks. I’m not sure the added weight is good weight.

 

[Cheesebeef]

So smooth...

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that was a pretty nice highlight reel. I know I probably came off as massive-anti-Doncic, but that was because I was soon pro-Ayton. Very interested to see how this kid plays at this level.

 

[Cheesebeef]

He is schooling NBA defenders already. And a "huskier Toni Kukoc with more playmaking ability" is one hell of a player.

agreed.

 

[Finito]

that was a pretty nice highlight reel. I know I probably came off as massive-anti-Doncic, but that was because I was soon pro-Ayton. Very interested to see how this kid plays at this level.

Yeah he's 19 that's scary

 

[Suns_fan69]

His shot looks a lot better than advertised. Of course, it's a one game highlight reel but mechanics and release look pretty good, even off the dribble.

 

[hcsilla]

Besides, he is more explosive and a (much) better dribbler/ballhandler than his comparison, Hedo Turkoglu.

 

[SirStefan32]

His shot looks a lot better than advertised. Of course, it's a one game highlight reel but mechanics and release look pretty good, even off the dribble.

His problem is that his jumper has been oddly inconsistent. I remember reading about him being a great shooter and not being able to reconcile that with what I saw. As it turned out, his jumper looks great for an extended period of time, and then it stops falling.
People attributed this to fatigue (Spanish league, Euro League, National team- basically the kid hasn't had a break for a couple of years). Not sure what happened, but his form does look great. Knowing his work ethic, he will turn into a very good shooter, but I think it will be a year or two before he is consistently good.

 

[Phrazbit]

Opening night!

Heyward back playing again, good for him, playing well too.

I also feel pretty confident that Ben Simmons will never be a remotely respectable shooter. He looks sooooooo uncomfortable, even from the line. The guy is a tremendous talent but it's going to be rough for him to stay in the point guard role when you can't really use him as the ball handler in close late games.

 

[Phrazbit]

Man, this Sixer team is "long". With Covington, Simmons and Embiid out there they are a terror defensively.

 

[Yuma]

Man, this Sixer team is "long". With Covington, Simmons and Embiid out there they are a terror defensively.

IF, and I know this is a big IF, Bender and Ayton were able to be on the floor at the same time, and JJ were SF at 6'6", we would have a pretty big line up, too!

 

[JCSunsfan]

Tatum is such a good player.

 

[Mainstreet]

Did he put on some weight over the summer? I see what people were saying about him being a player like Turkoglu now. His build is very similar. He looks taller also but that could just be seeing him with NBA players finally. He may be a solid player but he'll need an offense tailored to him to truly be effective. There's a good chance that a team tailored to him won't be much of a contender either so who knows what his ceiling ends up being.

I still think Doncic' style of play reminds me of Chris Mullin although he may be slightly bigger.

 

[Russ Smith]

if the first half is any indication the NBA has a ways to go to clean up the stuff on 3's and picks. In the first half as a Warrior fan we've seen Livingston get hip checked into a shooter by Adams and get called for a foul, we've seen Cook get called for a foul on a 3 where he wasn't even close to touching the shooter who was shooting off balance and just acted like he got fouled. We've seen Curry and Thompson repeatedly try to draw fouls after releasing the ball. Seen several offensive fouls on screens.

If they want to clean up anything how about the cleanouts by shooters. George hit Iggy in the chest prior to shooting, Adams hit Bell with 2 elbows before a layup. Durant got away with one, Klay got away with one. It's like the RB who hits the defender in the facemask they just don't call that cleanout enough IMO.

OKC actually looks pretty good considering they don't have Westbrook and they are missing their best defensive player. Adams is so good I don't think he gets enough credit, as the announcers said this could be the year he makes an All Star team, he's good enough. He's kept OKC in the game with his O rebounding and his defense. And he's a Kiwi to boot!

 

[sunsfan88]

Tatum is such a good player.

A reporter working the sideline during the game said he apparently added 7 lbs of muscle this summer and that he said he feels much more stronger and has more confidence in the paint now.

That is EXACTLY what Josh Jackson should’ve been doing. Instead Jackson looks like he did not work on his game all that much and physically looks the same or perhaps smaller than he did last season.

Following him on social media, it was disappointing to see him spend nearly all of summer after summe league doing world traveling rather than working on his game.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

A reporter working the sideline during the game said he apparently added 7 lbs of muscle this summer and that he said he feels much more stronger and has more confidence in the paint now.

That is EXACTLY what Josh Jackson should’ve been doing. Instead Jackson looks like he did not work on his game all that much and physically looks the same or perhaps smaller than he did last season.

Following him on social media, it was disappointing to see him spend nearly all of summer after summe league doing world traveling rather than working on his game.

FWIW, he's all over my Twitter with ads from Under Armour about how he's been working super hard this offseason so he can be the Most Improved Player in the NBA this year. There's a ton of links similar to this one with the same workout pictures and this video:

https://brobible.com/sports/article...armour/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

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[JCSunsfan]

Marquese Chriss is now the starting pf for the Rockets.

http://www.espn.com/nba/team/depth/_/name/hou/houston-rockets

Maybe McD wasn't so bad at drafting after all.

Yuck.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Marquese Chriss is now the starting pf for the Rockets.

http://www.espn.com/nba/team/depth/_/name/hou/houston-rockets

Maybe McD wasn't so bad at drafting after all.

Yuck.

I don't think those depth charts mean anything. He's been out with a sprained ankle the past week or so and is missing the opener, so I doubt he's been promoted to starter.

 

[Phrazbit]

It's a D'Antoni team.

Lets see what is going on in a couple months. Chriss has 2 or 3 bad games and he might lose all his playing time in favor of playing someone else 48 minutes a game.