2019 NBA Playoffs discussion/Around the NBA

[bwgood77]

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Soooooo glad we didn't get him. I hope he goes to the Lakers this summer. Let him be their 'big haul'

Yeah, did you read his complaints? Doesn't like their free flowing offense and wants more iso. Yuck.

[WeekapaugGroove]

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As Maya Angelou said: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."

[bwgood77]

Man, Harden really killing it on offense...

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[lilfishi22]

Wtf JJ

[bwgood77]

This is nuts...

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[bwgood77]

Man, the Kings beating the Warriors in the 4th...probably don't hold on but Fox isn't even having a good game. Warriors are shooting 50% and 44% from 3 but Kings are shooting 63% from 3..Hield on fire..Bogdan playing fairly well too.

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071259

[Revived]

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Every time I watch Barnes he reminds me so much of Josh Jackson.

[lilfishi22]

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Every time I watch Barnes he reminds me so much of Josh Jackson.

It's sad but at this point, I hope JJ carves out a career similar to Barnes. Since leaving the Warriors, he's averaged almost 19/5 on just below league average efficiency

[bigfoot]

This makes me mad still

http://bkref.com/tiny/dbr2w

[Saberestar]

This makes me mad still

http://bkref.com/tiny/dbr2w

Yeah, he looks great, but I do not think that he is gonna be THAT good in the long run.

That list have Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Grant Hill....I have not seen Roberson play, but everyone usually says that he was a really good defender.

Jordan, Bird and Hill were terrific defenders and they even dominated games with his defense.

If we can not compare Ayton with David Robinson, Ewing or Olajuwon is because he is not that good on defense. The same thing can be said about all of those great perimeter players and Doncic IMO.

I have seen 10-12 games from the Mavs and I am pretty sure that Doncic is a below average defender right now. Not a bad defender, but we can not say that he is a positive player on that side yet.

Those players were great defenders since day one. Game changers.That is a big difference.

[bwgood77]

This makes me mad still

http://bkref.com/tiny/dbr2w

Yeah, he looks great, but I do not think that he is gonna be THAT good in the long run.

That list have Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Grant Hill....I have not seen Roberson play, but everyone usually says that he was a really good defender.

Jordan, Bird and Hill were terrific defenders and they even dominated games with his defense.

If we can not compare Ayton with David Robinson, Ewing or Olajuwon is because he is not that good on defense. The same thing can be said about all of those great perimeter players and Doncic IMO.

I have seen 10-12 games from the Mavs and I am pretty sure that Doncic is a below average defender right now. Not a bad defender, but we can not say that he is a positive player on that side yet.

Those players were great defenders since day one. Game changers.That is a big difference.

Those guys also played multiple years in college. Luka didn't. I imagine he will have great defensive instincts. Probably not like Jordan or Bird, but I imagine he will be a good defender. He's already better than people think.

[realsunsfan]

This makes me mad still

http://bkref.com/tiny/dbr2w

Yeah, he looks great, but I do not think that he is gonna be THAT good in the long run.

That list have Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Grant Hill....I have not seen Roberson play, but everyone usually says that he was a really good defender.

Jordan, Bird and Hill were terrific defenders and they even dominated games with his defense.

If we can not compare Ayton with David Robinson, Ewing or Olajuwon is because he is not that good on defense. The same thing can be said about all of those great perimeter players and Doncic IMO.

I have seen 10-12 games from the Mavs and I am pretty sure that Doncic is a below average defender right now. Not a bad defender, but we can not say that he is a positive player on that side yet.

Those players were great defenders since day one. Game changers.That is a big difference.

Those guys also played multiple years in college. Luka didn't. I imagine he will have great defensive instincts. Probably not like Jordan or Bird, but I imagine he will be a good defender. He's already better than people think.

Yes, but he played professional ball overseas against grown men not college students for years, his instincts will be what they are in my opinion.

[bwgood77]

Yeah, he looks great, but I do not think that he is gonna be THAT good in the long run.

That list have Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Grant Hill....I have not seen Roberson play, but everyone usually says that he was a really good defender.

Jordan, Bird and Hill were terrific defenders and they even dominated games with his defense.

If we can not compare Ayton with David Robinson, Ewing or Olajuwon is because he is not that good on defense. The same thing can be said about all of those great perimeter players and Doncic IMO.

I have seen 10-12 games from the Mavs and I am pretty sure that Doncic is a below average defender right now. Not a bad defender, but we can not say that he is a positive player on that side yet.

Those players were great defenders since day one. Game changers.That is a big difference.

Those guys also played multiple years in college. Luka didn't. I imagine he will have great defensive instincts. Probably not like Jordan or Bird, but I imagine he will be a good defender. He's already better than people think.

Yes, but he played professional ball overseas against grown men not college students for years, his instincts will be what they are in my opinion.

So you think he's at his peak?

[realsunsfan]

Those guys also played multiple years in college. Luka didn't. I imagine he will have great defensive instincts. Probably not like Jordan or Bird, but I imagine he will be a good defender. He's already better than people think.

Yes, but he played professional ball overseas against grown men not college students for years, his instincts will be what they are in my opinion.

So you think he's at his peak?

Probably pretty close. He may improve his shooting a bit, but he is not going to get any more athletic so he is basically what he is. unless he becomes a lights out shooter ala Curry, you are seeing pretty much what he will be in this league

[bwgood77]

Yes, but he played professional ball overseas against grown men not college students for years, his instincts will be what they are in my opinion.

So you think he's at his peak?

Probably pretty close. He may improve his shooting a bit, but he is not going to get any more athletic so he is basically what he is. unless he becomes a lights out shooter ala Curry, you are seeing pretty much what he will be in this league

I think he will end up one of the best shooters in the league. He's got the touch and the moves and already hits tough shots off the dribble. His instincts will only get better on both sides. Still reminds me in ways of Bird, with a little Harden in him. Maybe not as good as either, but in ways reminds me.

[realsunsfan]

So you think he's at his peak?

Probably pretty close. He may improve his shooting a bit, but he is not going to get any more athletic so he is basically what he is. unless he becomes a lights out shooter ala Curry, you are seeing pretty much what he will be in this league

I think he will end up one of the best shooters in the league. He's got the touch and the moves and already hits tough shots off the dribble. His instincts will only get better on both sides. Still reminds me in ways of Bird, with a little Harden in him. Maybe not as good as either, but in ways reminds me.

Again, possibly, but I don't see it.

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[lilfishi22]

This makes me mad still

http://bkref.com/tiny/dbr2w

Yeah, he looks great, but I do not think that he is gonna be THAT good in the long run.

That list have Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Grant Hill....I have not seen Roberson play, but everyone usually says that he was a really good defender.

Jordan, Bird and Hill were terrific defenders and they even dominated games with his defense.

If we can not compare Ayton with David Robinson, Ewing or Olajuwon is because he is not that good on defense. The same thing can be said about all of those great perimeter players and Doncic IMO.

I have seen 10-12 games from the Mavs and I am pretty sure that Doncic is a below average defender right now. Not a bad defender, but we can not say that he is a positive player on that side yet.

Those players were great defenders since day one. Game changers.That is a big difference.

His physical limitations will hold him back from being a great defender but his instincts are already there. You can see that his reading of the game offensively and defensively is far more advanced than most 19 year olds. A big part of that is because he's been playing in a developed men's league that run well structured systems since he was a kid. A lot of rookies that weren't great defensive prospects in college often get lost and defensive concepts take time for them to understand.

I don't think Doncic is a good defender right now but I also don't think he's that bad either. He's about what I expect a young rookie to be. Most rookie players aren't good defensively unless they were already good before entering the NBA. But given where is offense is already and where his defense is right now, I think he's already ahead of where most people think he would be in his rookie season. I had concerns that his offense might take time to get acclimated to the length, speed, strength of NBA defenders but the kid is so savvy in using screens to get the mismatch already

[lilfishi22]

Yes, but he played professional ball overseas against grown men not college students for years, his instincts will be what they are in my opinion.

So you think he's at his peak?

Probably pretty close. He may improve his shooting a bit, but he is not going to get any more athletic so he is basically what he is. unless he becomes a lights out shooter ala Curry, you are seeing pretty much what he will be in this league

He's 19 and probably hasn't finished growing yet. He might not get much taller but as he trims that baby fat and spends time going through an NBA strength and conditioning program, he'll get stronger, he'll be faster and he'll be lighter on his feet. His athleticism will put a cap on his ceiling as an athlete but he didn't come into camp in good shape and imo still has plenty of room to improve. His instincts are there but given his BBIQ, I think see why those instincts couldn't grow develop as he goes on his NBA journey.

To say he's close to his peak is kinda nuts to me

[bwgood77]

He's 19 and probably hasn't finished growing yet. He might not get much taller but as he trims that baby fat and spends time going through an NBA strength and conditioning program, he'll get stronger, he'll be faster and he'll be lighter on his feet. His athleticism will put a cap on his ceiling as an athlete but he didn't come into camp in good shape and imo still has plenty of room to improve. His instincts are there but given his BBIQ, I think see why those instincts couldn't grow develop as he goes on his NBA journey.

To say he's close to his peak is kinda nuts to me

I agree. The guy is 20. He probably even has more upside on his athleticism than most who are already in super shape or close to peak shape. But his game relies on his IQ and athleticism isn't as important anyway, particularly since with that IQ he constantly picks up new things as he plays in the league and learns tendencies of the games, players, opponents, etc. Those ahead on the IQ curve early usually just continue to put more distance between themselves and most others as their career progresses...Bird, LeBron, Harden, etc...even Nash seemed to get better with time.

[sunskerr]

I also agree. Honestly, for an NBA player Luka is 'fat'. But since he has so much room to improve in terms of his conditioning (and quickness - when you lose dead weight you get quicker), he'll get way better just by losing weight.