The NBA rookies Thread

[Bolts]

Kings get to face the Ben Simmons show tonight, I expect him to get no less than 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Anything less and he's a damn disappointment!

 

[flyerhawk]

Kings get to face the Ben Simmons show tonight, I expect him to get no less than 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Anything less and he's a damn disappointment!

Sixers definitely need to win tonight. That would put them at 7-4 going into their matchup with the Warriors which they will almost certainly lose.

Should be interesting to see how they defend Simmons. And the Stein-Embiid matchup should be fun to watch at least when the Sixers have the ball. Hard to imagine Stein doing much against Embiid offensively.

 

[flyerhawk]

Yeah, to be fair to him, I've heard him interviewed a couple of times where he has basically admitted that he's a homer.

Still don't care for him, but at least he admits to his homerism.

I think he's funny and he's more or less the same age as I am so his references all relate to the stuff I grew up with.

 

[Bolts]

Sixers definitely need to win tonight. That would put them at 7-4 going into their matchup with the Warriors which they will almost certainly lose.

Should be interesting to see how they defend Simmons. And the Stein-Embiid matchup should be fun to watch at least when the Sixers have the ball. Hard to imagine Stein doing much against Embiid offensively.

Even if they're 6-6 after the next 2 games they should still be fine, but I'd be shocked if they didn't win and win rather easily. If Simmons plays PG I could see them having Temple defend him, if he's playing PF he'll run circles around z-bo. The best way to defend Simmons I'd think is try and force him into taking jump shots, but he's so good he'll still find ways to make plays. WCS needs to be more aggressive on the boards and a tougher defender, those should be his main focuses with offense being secondary.

 

[flyerhawk]

Even if they're 6-6 after the next 2 games they should still be fine, but I'd be shocked if they didn't win and win rather easily. If Simmons plays PG I could see them having Temple defend him, if he's playing PF he'll run circles around z-bo. The best way to defend Simmons I'd think is try and force him into taking jump shots, but he's so good he'll still find ways to make plays. WCS needs to be more aggressive on the boards and a tougher defender, those should be his main focuses with offense being secondary.

WCS may not even cross the mid court. LOL. He's going to have his hands full shutting down Embiid.

 

[Bolts]

WCS may not even cross the mid court. LOL. He's going to have his hands full shutting down Embiid.

It'll be a good test for him, somebody who can score from all over the court and brings it on the other end. That 1-2 punch of Embiid/Simmons is gonna be scary good in a few years if they stay healthy.

 

[flyerhawk]

It'll be a good test for him, somebody who can score from all over the court and brings it on the other end. That 1-2 punch of Embiid/Simmons is gonna be scary good in a few years if they stay healthy.

If they can stay healthy they could be a modern day version of David Robinson/Tim Duncan.

 

[Bolts]

If they can stay healthy they could be a modern day version of David Robinson/Tim Duncan.

Maybe Pop will wanna coach the 76ers after he's done with the Spurs.

 

[tlance]

He has an expiring contract. The past isn't the same as the now.

Right.

But, you asked why the Suns would consider buying him out. Monroe the player has little to no trade value. Monroe the expiring contract does, but the Suns aren't getting the type of long term assets they would want for Monroe.

 

[Mecca]

Right.

But, you asked why the Suns would consider buying him out. Monroe the player has little to no trade value. Monroe the expiring contract does, but the Suns aren't getting the type of long term assets they would want for Monroe.

Good point.

You'd think a team like the Celtics might be interested.

But, Danny isn't giving them shit...lol

 

[Bolts]

 

[trojanfan12]

Holy Shit, Lonzo is struggling with his shot!!

Why hasn't anyone brought this up?

 

[Bolts]

Holy Shit, Lonzo is struggling with his shot!!

Why hasn't anyone brought this up?

I didn't think it was getting enough attention.

 

[trojanfan12]

I didn't think it was getting enough attention.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Holy Shit, Lonzo is struggling with his shot!!

Why hasn't anyone brought this up?

Not the worst!

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Holy Shit, Lonzo is struggling with his shot!!

Why hasn't anyone brought this up?

This goes beyond "struggling"

 

[tlance]

Nothing to worry about though. Pretty good company on that list. Ok, so I have no idea who any of those guys are.

I don't care about his FG% in a 12 game sample. That is a pretty meaningless stat. What does have meaning is the fact that many questioned his shooting form/ability before he was even drafted and the early results seem to indicate that he can't shoot.

The good news is that Lonzo is extremely coordinated. In time, he can certainly overcome this. But, he probably should spend his first NBA off season relearning how to shoot.

Hell, I will volunteer to spend the summer working with him for a small price $100K would do it. I have fixed more broken jump shots than his.

 

[Mecca]

Goddamn, that's brutal....lol

Harsh

 

[Gman]

Hell, I will volunteer to spend the summer working with him for a small price $100K would do it. I have fixed more broken jump shots than his.

I used to shoot with my elbow at a weird angle... my shot was mediocre...

I remember when an adult finally got it through my thick head to tuck my elbow in and keep my lower arm vertical through my entire shooting motion... I became a better shooter almost instantly.

I went from having little confidence in my shot to being a decent mid range shooter.

---------

Why no one ever broke Lonzo's fugly shot down and then built him back up is beyond me. But the sooner that process starts the better.

 

[trojanfan12]

This goes beyond "struggling"

Not really. His passing is spot on, he keeps the offense moving, he's been playing surprisingly good team defense, his handles are fine, and he's only averaging 2.5 turnovers per game.

His shot needs work and lots of it. But for people to act like he's a bust because he can't shoot is an overreaction because of his Dad.

Chances are that he will never be a great shooter. That's fine. The Lakers don't need him to be a great shooter, but they do need him to develop a shot that is good enough that opponents can't just play off of him. Fortunately, he's 19 and only 11 games into his career. So he has time.