The NBA rookies Thread

[flyerhawk]

If Fultz even meets 80% of his expectations and you consider the talent of Embid and Simmons, and a very good next level of players the Sixers are going to see the process pan out well.

Simmons had a really good game last night. And it got completely eclipsed by Embiid. He was a force of nature last night. 46 points 13 rebounds 7 assists and 7 blocks is ridiculous.

 

[flyerhawk]

I am intrigued to see how the rookies do defending golden state tonight. for me a win is keeping them to maybe 100 to 105

Celtics win tonight and I'm going to start thinking that Stevens went with Belicheck to speak with the devil and make the same deal he made

 

[trojanfan12]

Fun game. Congrats to the Sixers.

Ben Simmons looks like he'll be really good. But hopefully Embiid can finally stay healthy because that guy is monster.

 

[flyerhawk]

Fun game. Congrats to the Sixers.

Ben Simmons looks like he'll be really good. But hopefully Embiid can finally stay healthy because that guy is monster.

Ingram looked really good last night. Seemed like he couldn't miss last night. He still needs to eat a few cheeseburgers though.

Kuzma looked solid and is looking more and more like the steal of the draft.

 

[trojanfan12]

Ingram looked really good last night. Seemed like he couldn't miss last night. He still needs to eat a few cheeseburgers though.

Kuzma looked solid and is looking more and more like the steal of the draft.

Really happy with Ingram's progress. It also gives me patience re: Lonzo. Ingram struggled for most of last year and looks like he's really getting things figured out this year.

Agree on the cheeseburgers. Dude actually put on some weight over the summer and he still looks like the skinniest guy in the league. lol

I keep waiting for Kuzma to "revert to the mean." He tore it up in the summer league and I thought "Well, it's the summer league." Then he kept it going in the pre-season and I thought, "Well, it's the pre-season." Now we're 14-15 games in and he's still playing well. Darn near put Embiid on a poster last night. Maybe he's real. lol

 

[flyerhawk]

Really happy with Ingram's progress. It also gives me patience re: Lonzo. Ingram struggled for most of last year and looks like he's really getting things figured out this year.

Agree on the cheeseburgers. Dude actually put on some weight over the summer and he still looks like the skinniest guy in the league. lol

I keep waiting for Kuzma to "revert to the mean." He tore it up in the summer league and I thought "Well, it's the summer league." Then he kept it going in the pre-season and I thought, "Well, it's the pre-season." Now we're 14-15 games in and he's still playing well. Darn near put Embiid on a poster last night. Maybe he's real. lol

So what do you make of Walton's decision to sit him in the 4th quarter? Is that concerning to you? If Walton loses faith in him I would say it might be time to blow up that disaster of a form. His shots last night didn't even have a chance. Even his one basket seemed more like pure coincidence than controlled shooting.

 

[mannyz]

I only watched the 1st half because I work early in the mornings. I thought Kuzma looked like the no. 2 pick, and Ball looked like the number 27 pick.
I want Ball to do well, but his idiot father has really stacked the deck against him. Good luck to him living up to his father's boasting.

 

[trojanfan12]

So what do you make of Walton's decision to sit him in the 4th quarter? Is that concerning to you? If Walton loses faith in him I would say it might be time to blow up that disaster of a form. His shots last night didn't even have a chance. Even his one basket seemed more like pure coincidence than controlled shooting.

Doesn't really concern me because the group on the floor was playing well. Doesn't matter who a guy is, you don't mess with a group that's playing well.

As for Lonzo's form

I heard Reggie Miller on Dan Patrick say that when a guy gets to the NBA, you don't mess with his shot because he got to the league shooting like that and will figure it out.

I think that Lonzo can be fine with the form, but he needs to work on his release point. Guys like Reggie Miller and Jamaal Wilkes had ugly form, but their release points were where you need it to be a great shooter. I don't think Lonzo's is.

The biggest problem I see with his shooting is that it's starting to effect the rest of his game. The best approach for now might be to tell him to not worry about shooting one way or the other and just concentrate on the rest of his game. The Lakers need his passing and ability to run the offense more than they need his shooting.

 

[LogicMan]

Kuzma looked solid and is looking more and more like the steal of the draft.

kid is the steal. he is a good defender. is agile and he shoots lights out from anywhere except the 3pt line.. but even 3 pt shots are over 30% so this kid has a long career ahead

 

[LogicMan]

The best approach for now might be to tell him to not worry about shooting one way or the other and just concentrate on the rest of his game. The Lakers need his passing and ability to run the offense more than they need his shooting.

yeah i respectfully disagree. he was heralded as the next magic. his dad has over promoted him. the pressure is so great for him to compete against the rest of the draft and these kids hear all the smack. i would use him on a limited basis and i would even play him in the d league with a shooting coach. his shot is really really really bad

 

[trojanfan12]

yeah i respectfully disagree. he was heralded as the next magic. his dad has over promoted him. the pressure is so great for him to compete against the rest of the draft and these kids hear all the smack. i would use him on a limited basis and i would even play him in the d league with a shooting coach. his shot is really really really bad

Thing is, working on shooting form, etc. is something you do in the off season, not during the season. If the Lakers were looking to be a playoff team, I would agree with limiting his minutes. But this season is about development.

I would say, as someone else suggested, maybe bringing him off the bench for a few games. Last season, Ingram struggled for much of the season. They brought him off the bench for a few games, he played much better after the all star break and now seems to be starting to fulfill some of his promise.

 

[LogicMan]

I would say, as someone else suggested, maybe bringing him off the bench for a few games. Last season, Ingram struggled for much of the season. They brought him off the bench for a few games, he played much better after the all star break and now seems to be starting to fulfill some of his promise.

good point. but that hand across the face just makes no sense and is so easy to block.

 

[trojanfan12]

good point. but that hand across the face just makes no sense and is so easy to block.

Agree. Like I said in post #688, to me it's more about his release point than his form. His form looks like when a little kid is shooting at a regulation height basket. They throw the ball up from their side rather than using proper form because they don't have the strength to get it to the hoop. It's like the ball kept going in for him, even as he got older, so no one bothered to change his form.

The problem is that his release point hasn't changed either and it needs to.

It also looks to me like he knows he has a slow release and is trying to hurry a bit because NBA players close too fast for his normal shot.

 

[flyerhawk]

Agree. Like I said in post #688, to me it's more about his release point than his form. His form looks like when a little kid is shooting at a regulation height basket. They throw the ball up from their side rather than using proper form because they don't have the strength to get it to the hoop. It's like the ball kept going in for him, even as he got older, so no one bothered to change his form.

The problem is that his release point hasn't changed either and it needs to.

It also looks to me like he knows he has a slow release and is trying to hurry a bit because NBA players close too fast for his normal shot.

He has a low release point and a slow delivery. That's a pretty bad combo. He can have as ugly a form as he wants but those two issues will prevent him from having an NBA shot.

 

[trojanfan12]

He has a low release point and a slow delivery. That's a pretty bad combo. He can have as ugly a form as he wants but those two issues will prevent him from having an NBA shot.

Agree. He has been most closely compared to Kidd and a little to Magic. Both of those guys could dominate a game without scoring a point. It's a lot of how they got by while they were learning to shoot.

I think that for the rest of the season, that should be Lonzo's focus. Not that he shouldn't shoot again all season, but I think he's worrying too much about his shot.

Forget about shooting and concentrate on dominating with his passing, command of the offense and handles. Yes, it will hurt the Lakers offense a bit because they're essentially playing 4 on 5 when on offense, but that was happening with both Magic and Kidd early in their careers and they still made it work.

I think that would actually help a bit with his shot too. Sometimes, the best way to help a shot is to stop worrying about it and just play, letting the shots come during the flow of the game.

 

[tlance]

Thanks for info. Shame they couldn't have worked through the growing pains at that point...

What's Ray Allen up to nowadays... ? The Lakers should hire him next offseason to do nothing but break Lonzo down and build him back up.

Ray should adopt the Pai Mei technique from the Kill Bill franchise... literally kick Lonzo's @ss until he does sh!t right:

That is just it though.

You don't need Ray Allen for that. In fact, many great players make crappy teachers/coaches because they don't have patience for people less skilled than them.

Any shooting coach can build Lonzo's shot correctly. You don't need a name, just somebody Lonzo would listen to. All it takes is a couple minutes for a good shooting coach to prove they know what they are talking about.

 

[Gman]

That is just it though.

You don't need Ray Allen for that. In fact, many great players make crappy teachers/coaches because they don't have patience for people less skilled than them.

Any shooting coach can build Lonzo's shot correctly. You don't need a name, just somebody Lonzo would listen to. All it takes is a couple minutes for a good shooting coach to prove they know what they are talking about.

Oh... I agree with you, in theory.

I just think Lonzo (and his dad) may need a "name" to listen to... that they would reject efforts by lesser mortals as they have rejected them (apparently) in the past.

 

[tlance]

Oh... I agree with you, in theory.

I just think Lonzo (and his dad) may need a "name" to listen to... that they would reject efforts by lesser mortals as they have rejected them (apparently) in the past.

If I want to teach somebody how to shoot, I am hiring the best teacher, not the best shooter. I think Lavar is smart enough to realize that despite his public persona.

 

[Gman]

If I want to teach somebody how to shoot, I am hiring the best teacher, not the best shooter. I think Lavar is smart enough to realize that despite his public persona.

I don't think the guy is stupid...

... but that isn't the only character flaw that could lead him to make a less than good decision in a matter such as this.

Being head-strong, prideful or just plain stubborn would suffice.

 

[Lakers+USC=#1]

That is just it though.

You don't need Ray Allen for that. In fact, many great players make crappy teachers/coaches because they don't have patience for people less skilled than them.

Any shooting coach can build Lonzo's shot correctly. You don't need a name, just somebody Lonzo would listen to. All it takes is a couple minutes for a good shooting coach to prove they know what they are talking about.

The reason why Kobe said he would never coach. He doesn't have the patience.