The NBA rookies Thread

[trojanfan12]

I've been impressed with his rebounding. His shot still is a problem but that has to be encouraging for Laker fans.

Yeah, I really like his rebounding and passing. Him being good on the boards gives the Lakers the ability to start a fast break even quicker because he doesn't always have to wait for a big to get the ball to him. I'm also pleasantly surprised by his defense. Don't get me wrong, he's not winning DPOY....ever. But so far, he's a good bit better than expected.

Now, if he could just fix that shot. lol

 

[bksballer89]

Lavar is back at it. Magic should probably put him in his place.

 

[CitySushi]

Lavar is back at it. Magic should probably put him in his place.

You mean as head coach?

 

[Mecca]

Lavar is back at it. Magic should probably put him in his place.

Wow, didn't see that one coming.

-said, nobody ever.

 

[Mecca]

Got hisself another triple double last night. One of only 6 players in history to have multiple triple doubles within his first 20 games.

Which probably means we're in for another clunker in his next game. lol

Jeff Green syndrome...lol

Another thing outside his boards and dimes I'm impressed with?

He's mentally tough.

Obviously, he's in his head about the shooting.

But, he doesn't get frazzled, lose his temper because of it.

After all the overexposure and negative press, if he fixes that shot to be at least respectable, you'll have a franchise cornerstone for many years to come.

Ps. Saw all the SportsHoopla over him not getting involved in the KCP fake fight and it was a bad look. But, he gets that.

Nevertheless, he's nowhere near the biggest bitch to play at Staples Center.

That honor goes to Deandre, Blake and Doc....lol

Honorable mention to Gallo with his chronically broken ass.

 

[Mecca]

Seems like this would get in his shooting vision.


View attachment 169717

View attachment 169718

I bet his hair stinks.

Yuck!

 

[flyerhawk]

It would seem that not everyone loved his triple double...

Lonzo's Ball's triple-double looks good on paper, but it's pretty deceiving

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

It would seem that not everyone loved his triple double...

Lonzo's Ball's triple-double looks good on paper, but it's pretty deceiving

Wow, that is one terrible article. Some random Lakers hater giving their opinion, and then saying "Anyone could do it"

Load of crap!

 

[flyerhawk]

Wow, that is one terrible article. Some random Lakers hater giving their opinion, and then saying "Anyone could do it"

Load of crap!

The video clips are kinda silly.

I do think his point that playing 40 minutes kinda diminishes the value of the triple double though. But 16 rebounds is good no matter how you slice it.

 

[wildturkey]

It would seem that not everyone loved his triple double...

Lonzo's Ball's triple-double looks good on paper, but it's pretty deceiving

Eh...yes and no. Triple Doubles can be deceiving. For example, Rajon Rondo. Dude can rack them up but largely he's a player that doesn't dramatically help his team (and in some cases in the past, he's hurt them). And it is true that the increase pace will increase triple doubles. That's just basic logic. Oscar didn't average a triple double solely because he was 100x better than everyone ever. It's because the league played insanely fast. It's no coincidence that when pace started going up, we had another player average a triple double (Westbrook...and almost Harden).

But its still impressive for Ball even if his rebounding is vastly inflated because the team is specifically game planning for him to be the one to get the rebounds.

Really, it falls in the middle. It's not super impressive OMG this kid is amazing. It's not triple doubles are overrated and he still sucks.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Kuzma continuing to light it up!

Barring an absolute catastrophe, Simmons will win ROY but Kuz is a good second.

 

[Gman]

Kuzma continuing to light it up!

Barring an absolute catastrophe, Simmons will win ROY but Kuz is a good second.

How dare you blaspheme Lonzo "Triple Double" Ball like this...

... Kuz would be averaging 1.6 pts a game if Lonz wasn't setting him up to succeed.

 

[tlance]

Kuzma continuing to light it up!

Barring an absolute catastrophe, Simmons will win ROY but Kuz is a good second.

Tatum will finish well ahead of Kuzma. He is a starter and 3rd option on the team with the best record in the league.

 

[BigKen]

Barring an absolute catastrophe, Simmons will win ROY but Kuz is a good second.

Are we looking through gold and purple glasses?? What about Jayson Tatum?? Depends on which coast you're on as to what you see. Simmons is having a great start, but we're not even a quarter way into the season. How about we wait until the season is over and compare the rookies.

 

[bksballer89]

Tatum will finish well ahead of Kuzma. He is a starter and 3rd option on the team with the best record in the league.

Yea Kuzma been good but as long as Tatum keeps this up, he's finishing ahead of Kuzma

 

[flyerhawk]

Really, it falls in the middle. It's not super impressive OMG this kid is amazing. It's not triple doubles are overrated and he still sucks.

Completely agree. Aside from Ball's shooting woes, he's playing reasonably well and quite well for rookie. Granted that's sort of a "Well aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play" kinda comment but there is no way that Ball will continue to shoot this poorly.

 

[trojanfan12]

Eh...yes and no. Triple Doubles can be deceiving. For example, Rajon Rondo. Dude can rack them up but largely he's a player that doesn't dramatically help his team (and in some cases in the past, he's hurt them). And it is true that the increase pace will increase triple doubles. That's just basic logic. Oscar didn't average a triple double solely because he was 100x better than everyone ever. It's because the league played insanely fast. It's no coincidence that when pace started going up, we had another player average a triple double (Westbrook...and almost Harden).

But its still impressive for Ball even if his rebounding is vastly inflated because the team is specifically game planning for him to be the one to get the rebounds.

Really, it falls in the middle. It's not super impressive OMG this kid is amazing. It's not triple doubles are overrated and he still sucks.

Agree. I think the whole "it's not impressive because the team is game planning for him to get rebounds" is a bs argument made by folks who would just rather criticize. The same writers, etc. were saying the same crap about Westbrook last year.

Someone has to get the rebound. Most teams gameplan for their bigs to get rebounds. The Lakers gameplan for Lonzo to get them because, with the pace Luke wants, they can start the offense faster if he gets the rebound rather than waiting for a big to get it and give him the ball.

It also feeds one of Lonzo's strengths which is getting the ball and knowing when to pass ahead into the frontcourt to get the fastbreak going.

It's not overly inflated rebounding stats, it's smart basketball.

 

[flyerhawk]

Are we looking through gold and purple glasses?? What about Jayson Tatum?? Depends on which coast you're on as to what you see. Simmons is having a great start, but we're not even a quarter way into the season. How about we wait until the season is over and compare the rookies.

Tatum is doing really well on perhaps the best team in basketball. He seems pretty clearly the No. 2 RoY choice in the league.

But barring an injury to Simmons or a MAJOR regression in his game, Simmons is going to win to RoY and probably make the all-star team. The Sixers have probably played the hardest schedule in the league so far and Simmons has done well. If anything he is likely to improve as the competition gets a little weaker.

 

[trojanfan12]

How about we wait until the season is over and compare the rookies.

Where's the fun in that? It's much more fun to talk about who's already a bust and who should start posing for their hall of fame bust less than 20 games into the season. lol

 

[flyerhawk]

Agree. I think the whole "it's not impressive because the team is game planning for him to get rebounds" is a bs argument made by folks who would just rather criticize. The same writers, etc. were saying the same crap about Westbrook last year.

Someone has to get the rebound. Most teams gameplan for their bigs to get rebounds. The Lakers gameplan for Lonzo to get them because, with the pace Luke wants, they can start the offense faster if he gets the rebound rather than waiting for a big to get it and give him the ball.

It's not overly inflated rebounding stats, it's smart basketball.

I do agree that Ball's rebound rate is a positive point for him regardless of the style of the team. But you do have to question how many rebounds a league average PG would get if he replaced Ball. Probably not as many as Ball but probably more than the typical PG.

IOW, Ball is doing better than most PGs would do in that position but his numbers should be qualified a little.