Ball Don't Lie: The LaMelo Ball Thread

Post #861 » by **yosemiteben** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 6:24 pm

The Observer going deep on Ball - https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article248030150.html

MPM · Post #862 » by **MPM** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 6:37 pm

Observer goes Balls deep. (Sorry, you lobbed a softball - couldn't resist)

Nice read. In-depth. Reassuring how impressed people seem to be with him as a person. Strange to think of Biz as a 10-year vet and mentor.

DY_nasty · Post #863 » by **DY_nasty** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 7:16 pm

MPM wrote:Observer goes Balls deep. (Sorry, you lobbed a softball - couldn't resist)

Nice read. In-depth. Reassuring how impressed people seem to be with him as a person. Strange to think of Biz as a 10-year vet and mentor.

Biz is a cool dude. If he could catch half as well as he could dress he'd be a 3 time all star

Post #864 » by **BigSlam** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 7:36 pm

MPM wrote:Observer goes Balls deep. (Sorry, you lobbed a softball - couldn't resist)

Nice read. In-depth. Reassuring how impressed people seem to be with him as a person. Strange to think of Biz as a 10-year vet and mentor.

I almost went there but decided not to.

Now I wish I had.

Well played.

Spoiler:

MPM · Post #865 » by **MPM** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:29 pm

BigSlam wrote:
MPM wrote:Observer goes Balls deep. (Sorry, you lobbed a softball - couldn't resist)

Nice read. In-depth. Reassuring how impressed people seem to be with him as a person. Strange to think of Biz as a 10-year vet and mentor.

I almost went there but decided not to.

Now I wish I had.

Well played.

Spoiler:
Penis

Oh, I let it hang in the air a bit before taking a swing. Enough time to ponder it - to consider what the reply would say about me. But, in the end, as with most of my life, the gravity of cheap kicks proved inescapable. Why fight it?

Post #866 » by **yosemiteben** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:21 pm

I'm setting y'all up like LaMello

Post #867 » by **yosemiteben** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 2:57 am

Read on Twitter

I want to believe this isn't who Ball is, but I suspect he's going to have a lot of nights like this this season.

Rich4114 · Post #868 » by **Rich4114** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 4:29 am

yosemiteben wrote:

Read on Twitter

I want to believe this isn't who Ball is, but I suspect he's going to have a lot of nights like this this season.

I expect it this season. I don’t think anybody thought he was coming in here to light it up his rookie year at least not with scoring.

MasterIchiro · Post #869 » by **MasterIchiro** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:58 pm

He's a two year project minimum before he becomes an accomplished scorer and adequate defender. Does that make me feel uneasy? You bet your ass. It would be so nice to draft a player who starts day one and looks like a legit star. I don't think it's off base to expect that from pick 3. This was a tough draft. You could argue projects were unavoidable in this one. Given how many directions/variables in a successful project, I think I'd be thrilled if LaMelo turned out to be a complementary player. How often do teams get cornerstone players out of projects? I'm legit wondering if someone can cite some examples.

euphorbus · Post #870 » by **euphorbus** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 2:08 pm

Was anyone setting screens for Ball? It really helps if you are open when you shoot. From what I saw last night, most of the Hornets' offense came from individual play.

He is lost on defense, but so is just about everyone else not named Martin.

Robot Rock · Post #871 » by **Robot Rock** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 7:31 pm

yosemiteben wrote:

Read on Twitter

I want to believe this isn't who Ball is, but I suspect he's going to have a lot of nights like this this season.

Those who are predicting a lot of scoreless nights with few assists for Ball are going to be wrong and disappointed, or at the minimum, wrong. I’ll go on record saying he will be one of our three best players.

Robot Rock · Post #872 » by **Robot Rock** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 7:33 pm

It’s tough to make an impact when you had little seasoning before your debut, fan expectations are unreasonable and you only play four minutes in the second half. As has been the case since I joined this board, people will see what they want to see.

DY_nasty · Post #873 » by **DY_nasty** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 8:03 pm

bruh.

i was saying months ago that every rookie was gonna get it bad this year. maybe he plays more in the second if he doesn't get ripped twice in the same possession and not let sexton walk to the rim on him

Post #874 » by **yosemiteben** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 9:00 pm

Robot Rock wrote:
yosemiteben wrote:

Read on Twitter

I want to believe this isn't who Ball is, but I suspect he's going to have a lot of nights like this this season.

Those who are predicting a lot of scoreless nights with few assists for Ball are going to be wrong and disappointed, or at the minimum, wrong. I’ll go on record saying he will be one of our three best players.

I'm predicting disappointment but hoping for pleasant surprise.

Emhoward · Post #875 » by **Emhoward** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 9:18 pm

MasterIchiro wrote:He's a two year project minimum before he becomes an accomplished scorer and adequate defender. Does that make me feel uneasy? You bet your ass. It would be so nice to draft a player who starts day one and looks like a legit star. I don't think it's off base to expect that from pick 3. This was a tough draft. You could argue projects were unavoidable in this one. Given how many directions/variables in a successful project, I think I'd be thrilled if LaMelo turned out to be a complementary player. How often do teams get cornerstone players out of projects? I'm legit wondering if someone can cite some examples.

I'm thinking now just so I can feel better about the situation.

Kawhi was a bit of a project, although he had a strong pro ready attribute - defense, but so does Lamelo with his playmaking.
Kyle Lowry isn't a star but it seemed to take a while before he hit his stride, I think the same with Billups.

Giannis obviously as well.

Kemba, Beal, and Russell were all thought of pretty negatively early on and they turned it around and became all stars.
I wouldn't say all of these are "projects" in the traditional sense, but they weren't impressive as rookies... I don't think, didn't look up any stats just going from memory.

Keetch · Post #876 » by **Keetch** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 10:17 pm

I think the best shots LeMelo had were the ones in the paint that he passed up.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MasterIchiro · Post #877 » by **MasterIchiro** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 10:23 pm

Emhoward wrote:
MasterIchiro wrote:He's a two year project minimum before he becomes an accomplished scorer and adequate defender. Does that make me feel uneasy? You bet your ass. It would be so nice to draft a player who starts day one and looks like a legit star. I don't think it's off base to expect that from pick 3. This was a tough draft. You could argue projects were unavoidable in this one. Given how many directions/variables in a successful project, I think I'd be thrilled if LaMelo turned out to be a complementary player. How often do teams get cornerstone players out of projects? I'm legit wondering if someone can cite some examples.

I'm thinking now just so I can feel better about the situation.

Kawhi was a bit of a project, although he had a strong pro ready attribute - defense, but so does Lamelo with his playmaking.
Kyle Lowry isn't a star but it seemed to take a while before he hit his stride, I think the same with Billups.

Giannis obviously as well.

Kemba, Beal, and Russell were all thought of pretty negatively early on and they turned it around and became all stars.
I wouldn't say all of these are "projects" in the traditional sense, but they weren't impressive as rookies... I don't think, didn't look up any stats just going from memory.

Yes, feels like a 2-year project is a longshot to develop into a cornerstone player. It almost never happens. So yeah, I'm feeling a little bit stressed about it. I'm looking at Ja Morant and thinking, Jesus, how long will it take for LaMelo to reach that level of ever? Morant is a cornerstone player. Just a terrible draft for cornerstone players. There might be zero. So if you looked at this draft as a hunt for complementary players, maybe you should have leaned towards someone more polished like Avdija. We definitely swung for upside and must be thinking big. But I don't see cornerstone early. I don't see Morant. So I guess pray for a Giannis type of transformation?

Robot Rock · Post #878 » by **Robot Rock** » Fri Dec 25, 2020 12:56 am

DY_nasty wrote:bruh.

i was saying months ago that every rookie was gonna get it bad this year. maybe he plays more in the second if he doesn't get ripped twice in the same possession and not let sexton walk to the rim on him

You gonna bench every player for the night after they screw up? Two players on the court?

Robot Rock · Post #879 » by **Robot Rock** » Fri Dec 25, 2020 12:57 am

I mean it literally took 12 minutes of playing time in his first game and he’s written off. People should adopt the MKG approach and give him seven years of “just wait he’s about to turn the corner”

Robot Rock · Post #880 » by **Robot Rock** » Fri Dec 25, 2020 1:00 am

It’s actually a great thing for LaMelo’s future if he’s poorly regarded by this board. It’s the same one who anointed DJ Augustin and, a year later, Ramon Sessions as the point guards we needed to start over that talentless chucker. You know, the one who became a 3-time NBA All-Star and is, on the low end, a top-2 all-time Hornets player.

2012 RealGM Bobcats forum pegged MKG as a stud and Kemba as a dud. Truly hilarious times then. But while we’re at it, Terry had 42 last night. So he’s MVP, right?