Around The NBA: 2019-20 RESTART

[johnnyvann840]

Michael Porter having himself a game- 2 min to go and he's got 25 points in 23 minutes on 11/12 shooting.

He was great tonight, no question. Best game he's ever had in his life. If he can do that he'll make me eat crow. Being a Nuggets fan I welcome it.

Yeah we need to see at least a couple consecutive months of good play from him before anyone eats crow... But even then his highschool/college game play wasn't very impressive and his injury concerns will continue to linger for a few years

I agree. He looked fantastic though tonight. It's extremely impressive for somebody to do what he just did after having gone through everything he has and taken so much time off from competitive basketball and basically jump two levels. Just to have a game like that where he did more than just score 25 pts in 23 minutes. He genuinely looked good doing it. He has obviously worked very hard at his rehab and learned some things in the process.

I'm a Nuggets fan and I just hope the kid can be a piece for them in the future. Anything he can contribute is pure bonus in my eyes, because I had written him off as a complete waste of a pick. He just helped them win a game. But, yes, I am very skeptical about his long term prospects in this league.

[Dresden]

Michael Porter having himself a game- 2 min to go and he's got 25 points in 23 minutes on 11/12 shooting.

He was great tonight, no question. Best game he's ever had in his life. If he can do that he'll make me eat crow. Being a Nuggets fan I welcome it.

Yeah we need to see at least a couple consecutive months of good play from him before anyone eats crow... But even then his highschool/college game play wasn't very impressive and his injury concerns will continue to linger for a few years

Please remind me again what his numbers were in high school, where he "wasn't very impressive". And I guess that sort of unimpressive play was why he was ranked the #1 prospect in his class?

[PaKii94]

He was great tonight, no question. Best game he's ever had in his life. If he can do that he'll make me eat crow. Being a Nuggets fan I welcome it.

Yeah we need to see at least a couple consecutive months of good play from him before anyone eats crow... But even then his highschool/college game play wasn't very impressive and his injury concerns will continue to linger for a few years

Please remind me again what his numbers were in high school, where he "wasn't very impressive". And I guess that sort of unimpressive play was why he was ranked the #1 prospect in his class?

Did I say his numbers weren't impressive? His GAMEPLAY wasn't impressive. I didn't think (and still don't think) his game (mid range jumpers over smaller players) will translate well to the NBA. One hot game doesn't change that. That's why I want to see him excel for a few months before we come to any conclusions about him.

Maybe he does change up his game for the modern NBA but the onus is on him to show us. Anyway, did you know our very own Antonio Blakeney was a #1 prospect out of high school? That really showed he was a star in the NBA right?

[RedBulls23]

I might have to eat crow on Michael Poeter Jr. He's looked good the last 2 games. Thought the back injury/surgery stuff would be a problem.

I don't think so. He had one good outing against Sac the other night and he did look good. But that was the only time this season he has looked decent that wasn't in garbage time..... He played 10 minutes last night and the Nuggets were -13 with him out there. He's played mostly garbage time minutes this season. I don't think he's going to be able to stay on the floor even if he does get his chance.

And the back injury/surgery stuff is still a problem. He's played 230 NBA minutes and he's almost half way through his 2nd season. If he was able to contribute every night, believe me, Malone would be playing him more. There is a reason why he barely sees the floor.

Another night and he balled out. He can score, you gotta give him that. He comes close to living up to his hype and Denver is going to be scary good.

[Taikuri]

Did anyone post this yet? Funny to see RoLo still being RoLo.

"Robin Lopez stalked an opponent down the court after getting dunked on and trash-talked"

Watch on YouTube

[Chicago-Bull-E]

MPJ killing it. Was big on the Bulls drafting him. Oh well.

[Mech Engineer]

MPJ killing it. Was big on the Bulls drafting him. Oh well.

This is where GMs become HOFers, legends or a nondescript GM. It is just pure luck most of the time but when you are in the dumps like the Bulls have been, you need to take a shot at many high ceiling prospects as you can.

As much as I like the Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson types,, the NBA seems to be ruled by offensive superstars. And, I just don't get it when the draft process is your primary path to acquire talent, the Bulls have not taken any risks at all for the last few years. It is not like they will sign Durant in free agency or pull of a trade for Harden/AD.

But, OTOH, picking an injury prone player is risky too. We need to see a larger sample size before assuming anything related to his health. Denver seems to be the perfect fit because they have a good team, better stars, small market. He can ease his way into the league.

[Red Larrivee]

MPJ killing it. Was big on the Bulls drafting him. Oh well.

This is where GMs become HOFers, legends or a nondescript GM. It is just pure luck most of the time but when you are in the dumps like the Bulls have been, you need to take a shot at many high ceiling prospects as you can.

As much as I like the Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson types,, the NBA seems to be ruled by offensive superstars. And, I just don't get it when the draft process is your primary path yo acquire talent, the Bulls have not taken any risks at all for the last few years. It is not like they will sign Durant in free agency or pull of a trade for Harden/AD.

But, OTOH, by picking an injury prone player is risky too. We need to see a larger sample size before assuming anything related to his health. Denver seems to be the perfect fit because they have a good team, better stars, small market. He can ease his way into the league.

I think people make the mistake of believing that all players with upside have superstar upside.

We're six months removed from people trying to convince us that Cam Reddish has superstar potential. Michael Porter had multiple significant back surgeries before his 21st birthday. It's good to see him contributing, but he was red flagged by numerous teams in the lottery that year. Chicago picking him would've been irresponsible.

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[Dresden]

Yeah we need to see at least a couple consecutive months of good play from him before anyone eats crow... But even then his highschool/college game play wasn't very impressive and his injury concerns will continue to linger for a few years

Please remind me again what his numbers were in high school, where he "wasn't very impressive". And I guess that sort of unimpressive play was why he was ranked the #1 prospect in his class?

Did I say his numbers weren't impressive? His GAMEPLAY wasn't impressive. I didn't think (and still don't think) his game (mid range jumpers over smaller players) will translate well to the NBA. One hot game doesn't change that. That's why I want to see him excel for a few months before we come to any conclusions about him.

Maybe he does change up his game for the modern NBA but the onus is on him to show us. Anyway, did you know our very own Antonio Blakeney was a #1 prospect out of high school? That really showed he was a star in the NBA right?

I don't see how anyone can watch his high school highlights and not be impressed. He did a lot more than shoot mid range jumpers. He had a good handle for a 6'10" forward, showed a lot of athleticism, could get to the rim easily, could knock down 3's, was an excellent rebounder. I thought he was the second or third best option in that draft, after Marvin Bagley (I had him tied with Doncic).

His game seems tailor made for the modern nba- he's the prototypical athletic stretch 4. He's not quite the athlete Paul George is, but he's very skilled for his size.

And while being ranked #1 in your class doesn't guarantee a solid nba career, it does mean you were a damn impressive player in high school.

[Dresden]

Did anyone post this yet? Funny to see RoLo still being RoLo.

"Robin Lopez stalked an opponent down the court after getting dunked on and trash-talked"

Watch on YouTube

Don't mess with ROLO- he don't take no **** from a skinny little rookie who's averaging about 5 ppg.

[Dresden]

MPJ killing it. Was big on the Bulls drafting him. Oh well.

This is where GMs become HOFers, legends or a nondescript GM. It is just pure luck most of the time but when you are in the dumps like the Bulls have been, you need to take a shot at many high ceiling prospects as you can.

As much as I like the Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson types,, the NBA seems to be ruled by offensive superstars. And, I just don't get it when the draft process is your primary path yo acquire talent, the Bulls have not taken any risks at all for the last few years. It is not like they will sign Durant in free agency or pull of a trade for Harden/AD.

But, OTOH, by picking an injury prone player is risky too. We need to see a larger sample size before assuming anything related to his health. Denver seems to be the perfect fit because they have a good team, better stars, small market. He can ease his way into the league.

I think people make the mistake of believing that all players with upside have superstar upside.

We're six months removed from people trying to convince us that Cam Reddish has superstar potential. Michael Porter had multiple significant back surgeries before his 21st birthday. It's good to see him contributing, but he was red flagged by numerous teams in the lottery that year. Chicago picking him would've been irresponsible.

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And some people thought it was stupid of PHI to take a risk on Embiid. We'll see how MPJ turns out. But I agree with the OP- Bulls are so desperate to hit a home run in the draft, esp. when we got knocked back to 7th in that lottery, to have someone with top 4 talent fall down to you why not go for it? You don't win championships with solid role players like Wendell Carter. And I like Wendell. But you need those special talents, and that was a shot we had at one. Esp. when he started to fall, why not see if you could trade a future first to get another pick for him?

[johnnyvann840]

MPJ killing it. Was big on the Bulls drafting him. Oh well.

This is where GMs become HOFers, legends or a nondescript GM. It is just pure luck most of the time but when you are in the dumps like the Bulls have been, you need to take a shot at many high ceiling prospects as you can.

As much as I like the Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson types,, the NBA seems to be ruled by offensive superstars. And, I just don't get it when the draft process is your primary path yo acquire talent, the Bulls have not taken any risks at all for the last few years. It is not like they will sign Durant in free agency or pull of a trade for Harden/AD.

But, OTOH, by picking an injury prone player is risky too. We need to see a larger sample size before assuming anything related to his health. Denver seems to be the perfect fit because they have a good team, better stars, small market. He can ease his way into the league.

I think people make the mistake of believing that all players with upside have superstar upside.

We're six months removed from people trying to convince us that Cam Reddish has superstar potential. Michael Porter had multiple significant back surgeries before his 21st birthday. It's good to see him contributing, but he was red flagged by numerous teams in the lottery that year. Chicago picking him would've been irresponsible.

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Yes. And let's not too excited about a couple of good games. Since drafted, the Nuggets have played around 118 games. MPJ has had maybe a handful of decent games and has never played over 23 minutes in any game. Bottom line is that he missed his entire rookie season and has played very little this season. Nobody knows what an 82 game schedule might be like for him. He is still an extremely high risk and even if he has a great season in the next couple of years, how long is he going to be able to stay healthy. His health issues are significant and the type of issues that are common to re-occur and plague him for years. There have not been many examples of people who have gone through multiple surgeries and microdiscectomy that ever make it back to 100% and stay there.

[Dresden]

I also don't understand the line: "I think people make the mistake of believing that all players with upside have superstar upside. " If people thought Kawhi or Paul George or Pascal Siakam had superstar upside, they wouldn't have lasted to midway through the first round, would they? You just don't know sometimes, but you can at least look for certain measurables. And when a prospect fits the prototype of the modern nba wing- long, athletic, can handle the ball, can score at all three levels- AND was highly productive in high school as well--- you have to think someone like is as likely as anyone to be a very high level player. I do understand the concerns about his back, but it was not a major surgery. It was more like a procedure. I would want to know why he didn't recover as expected and why another procedure was necessary if I were drafting him, but from what I've read about his condition, it's quite likely something that will not hamper his career and that he will recover from more or less fully.

[Ccwatercraft]

Did anyone post this yet? Funny to see RoLo still being RoLo.

"Robin Lopez stalked an opponent down the court after getting dunked on and trash-talked"

Watch on YouTube

Don't mess with ROLO- he don't take no **** from a skinny little rookie who's averaging about 5 ppg.

i'm a bit baffled why he took issue with being dunked on, put your big boy pants on, inbound the ball and get back on offense.

[Red Larrivee]

I also don't understand the line: "I think people make the mistake of believing that all players with upside have superstar upside. " If people thought Kawhi or Paul George or Pascal Siakam had superstar upside, they wouldn't have lasted to midway through the first round, would they? You just don't know sometimes, but you can at least look for certain measurables. And when a prospect fits the prototype of the modern nba wing- long, athletic, can handle the ball, can score at all three levels- AND was highly productive in high school as well--- you have to think someone like is as likely as anyone to be a very high level player.

Measurements don't create stars though. The Bulls know that better than anyone with Tyrus Thomas and Tyson Chandler.

It's about intangibles, decision-making, basketball IQ, and instincts. That's why you can't get too caught up in tools; otherwise, Cam Reddish and Kevin Knox would be absolute studs. Some people see an athletic 6'8 forward with a great high school reel and automatically assume superstar upside. Athleticism and measurements are simply the natural advantages you have if you figure the finer parts out.

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[Mech Engineer]

I can see MPJ, Luka and a couple of other draft picks who the Bulls should have put all their chips in. All these guys were highly thought off before the draft. And, as Dresden wrote, multi-talented offensive wings are the golden chip of the future. Without them, you just can't build a great team. It is almost the only way except for a few odd cases. If you see even a 10% chance of the next LeBron, Kawhi....you need to go all in and worry about the rest of the stuff later.

Look at how Luka has completely changed the Mavs future and they were in the same sinking boat as the Bulls.

Also, what is the big deal to quickly build around highly paid Otto Porter types. Anybody can do it an off-season if you fall flat on your draft picks. With draft picks(for ex: Dunn)...if they fail, you are not losing much. You just need to have the mental discipline to move on. And, it is highly probable that most of these guys will fail. But, this is their only path to success...they have nothing else. That's what I don't understand.

[Red Larrivee]

And some people thought it was stupid of PHI to take a risk on Embiid. We'll see how MPJ turns out. But I agree with the OP- Bulls are so desperate to hit a home run in the draft, esp. when we got knocked back to 7th in that lottery, to have someone with top 4 talent fall down to you why not go for it? You don't win championships with solid role players like Wendell Carter. And I like Wendell. But you need those special talents, and that was a shot we had at one. Esp. when he started to fall, why not see if you could trade a future first to get another pick for him?

Embiid was a vastly superior prospect to Porter. Even then, he still carries significant injury risk today. It's working for Philadelphia, but that's one example out of how many?

The issues with Porter are from those who believe he isn't the prospect he was hyped up to be and believe he has a short shelf life with his back surgeries. Is there a scenario where he can become a solid NBA player? Absolutely, but the mistake his supporters were making is to assume that scenario is one of stardom.

More power to Porter if that happens, but I disagree that the Bulls were in a situation where they could afford to whiff on the 7th pick. Denver was in a situation where they could afford to miss on their pick with Jokic there and already being a fringe playoff team.

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[Ice Man]

Tyrus Thomas was THE pick with upside for the Bulls. That was the biggest bet they made on upside. Jimmy Butler was the opposite. He was the safest pick he could have made.

I mean, I understand the argument, but it sure is easier to make in hindsight than it is at the time. The one thing I will say in hindsight is that Tryus should have flunked the psych test. When you're drafting sheer raw athleticism, you'd better get a smart guy who's going to improve. The mental difference between Giannis (another athlete/project) and Tryus is huge and obvious.

[Dresden]

This is where GMs become HOFers, legends or a nondescript GM. It is just pure luck most of the time but when you are in the dumps like the Bulls have been, you need to take a shot at many high ceiling prospects as you can.

As much as I like the Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson types,, the NBA seems to be ruled by offensive superstars. And, I just don't get it when the draft process is your primary path yo acquire talent, the Bulls have not taken any risks at all for the last few years. It is not like they will sign Durant in free agency or pull of a trade for Harden/AD.

But, OTOH, by picking an injury prone player is risky too. We need to see a larger sample size before assuming anything related to his health. Denver seems to be the perfect fit because they have a good team, better stars, small market. He can ease his way into the league.

I think people make the mistake of believing that all players with upside have superstar upside.

We're six months removed from people trying to convince us that Cam Reddish has superstar potential. Michael Porter had multiple significant back surgeries before his 21st birthday. It's good to see him contributing, but he was red flagged by numerous teams in the lottery that year. Chicago picking him would've been irresponsible.

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Yes. And let's not too excited about a couple of good games. Since drafted, the Nuggets have played around 118 games. MPJ has had maybe a handful of decent games and has never played over 23 minutes in any game. Bottom line is that he missed his entire rookie season and has played very little this season. Nobody knows what an 82 game schedule might be like for him. He is still an extremely high risk and even if he has a great season in the next couple of years, how long is he going to be able to stay healthy. His health issues are significant and the type of issues that are common to re-occur and plague him for years. There have not been many examples of people who have gone through multiple surgeries and microdiscectomy that ever make it back to 100% and stay there.

http://discectomypain.com/5-pro-athletes-that-have-had-a-micro-discectomy/

[Dresden]

The surgery itself is relatively minor and not invasive, as far as I know. The problem it is trying to fix is a bulging or a herniated disc. There are varying degrees of severity to this, naturally, and sometimes it becomes an ongoing problem, sometimes it does not. As the article I listed above states, some athletes have had to have multiple operations, which attempts to reduce the pressure on the leg nerves by shaving away part of the bone, or making the nerve canal larger. Whether or not this becomes an ongoing issue, and whether or not it results in loss of motion or flexibility, is entirely dependent on the severity of the original problem, and what can be done to work around the issue via physical therapy, etc.

We don't really know much about Porter's situation, other than he did require a second surgery. It's likely the first one just did not go far enough to reduce the inflammation and pressure on the nerve. How he recovers is still very much in the air, and depends on the amount of deterioration in his disk.