Who has the best sophomore season?

[GeorgeMarcus]

JJJ
Doncic
Trae Young

[blueNorange]

[Buzzard]

Shamet is going to be the only rookie playing with a couple superstars who will have the defensive attention all game long. He's going to get the Klay Thompson perk of being wide open constantly in a juggernaut offense. He's also probably the only guy here with a title shot this year. So it depends on what "best" means here. He could easily have the best season here in terms of scoring leap and winning a title as a huge piece in that, but individually he won't be equal to Doncic, Trae, JJJ most likely.

Doncic is going to take the smallest season over season leap probably because of how damn good he was ALREADY last year. So he will end up being the best all around guy probably, while taking the smallest leap if that makes sense.

For me when it comes to best, I think in terms of, if I could pick three players who were the best to have on my team, regardless of position, who would they be.

In other words not necessarily the biggest improvement but who would be on my big three team based on this years performance. Others may want to use biggest jump as the criteria and that is fine to. An explanation such as yours and others for Shamet makes total sense in this regard. I think all of these opinions in this thread are good ones.

[Sactowndog]

JJJ

he has a PG now to hit him in his spots, should be even better defensively, and sounds like he's going to be handling the ball more.

Wait what? Didn’t he have Conley last year and you think Ja as a rookie will be better. I like JJJ also but not for this reason.

[OkcSinceSGA]

Shamet is going to be the only rookie playing with a couple superstars who will have the defensive attention all game long. He's going to get the Klay Thompson perk of being wide open constantly in a juggernaut offense. He's also probably the only guy here with a title shot this year. So it depends on what "best" means here. He could easily have the best season here in terms of scoring leap and winning a title as a huge piece in that, but individually he won't be equal to Doncic, Trae, JJJ most likely.

Doncic is going to take the smallest season over season leap probably because of how damn good he was ALREADY last year. So he will end up being the best all around guy probably, while taking the smallest leap if that makes sense.

For me when it comes to best, I think in terms of, if I could pick three players who were the best to have on my team, regardless of position, who would they be.

In other words not necessarily the biggest improvement but who would be on my big three team based on this years performance. Others may want to use biggest jump as the criteria and that is fine to. An explanation such as yours and others for Shamet makes total sense in this regard. I think all of these opinions in this thread are good ones.

Yea, I mean to ME winning a title and having a big 2nd year may be the best a season gets. Individually who's the best 3 guys by season end? Still Doncic/JJJ/Trae IMO. A lot of it is relative to the baseline for each player IMO.

[BoogieTime]

In terms of individually turning a team around, Trae

[Buzzard]

In terms of individually turning a team around, Trae

I think Trae is about to do something; or at least get really close to doing something that has not been seen in the East in a very long time. Average 20 points and 10 assist for a whole season.

The Hawks will need Collins, Huerter, Hunter, Parker, Len, Reddish, Crabbe etc to play well but the playoffs are not out of the question. And that my friend would be a turn around.

[BoogieTime]

In terms of individually turning a team around, Trae

I think Trae is about to do something; or at least get really close to doing something that has not been seen in the East in a very long time. Average 20 points and 10 assist for a whole season.

The Hawks will need Collins, Huerter, Hunter, Parker, Len, Reddish, Crabbe etc to play well but the playoffs are not out of the question. And that my friend would be a turn around.

I have him as the best player of the class.

Doncic plays a point forward, but IMO it’s not opportune to have the unathletic point forward initiating the offense like a point guard

I can see the Hawks in the playoff periphery next season

[Buzzard]

In terms of individually turning a team around, Trae

I think Trae is about to do something; or at least get really close to doing something that has not been seen in the East in a very long time. Average 20 points and 10 assist for a whole season.

The Hawks will need Collins, Huerter, Hunter, Parker, Len, Reddish, Crabbe etc to play well but the playoffs are not out of the question. And that my friend would be a turn around.

I have him as the best player of the class.

Doncic plays a point forward, but IMO it’s not opportune to have the unathletic point forward initiating the offense like a point guard

I can see the Hawks in the playoff periphery next season

I am not going down the rabbit hole of Luka vs Trae; had enough of that least season Donic is special, so is Trae, I will leave history to argue about this vs that. I think Trae is going to have a hell of a season and I think he has more weapons to play with this season as well. Even if most are new weapons.

[udfa]

All will have good seasons except Sexton and perhaps SGA.

Best player will be Doncic. On that list only he and Trae have a good shot of being All-Stars, Trae because the East, Doncic because he's awesome.

[Buzzard]

All will have good seasons except Sexton and perhaps SGA.

Best player will be Doncic. On that list only he and Trae have a good shot of being All-Stars, Trae because the East, Doncic because he's awesome.

I think the East vs West bias is starting to become whiny BS. Some want to say Embiid, Simmons, Giannis etc are only so good because they are in the East. But some of those same people are proclaiming the Unicorn the next great one even though his one previous All Star set of stats was accumulated in the East.

It is becoming like this with some West Coasters: player in East would not be that great ( George, LeBron, Porzingis ) if he was in the West; then player moves to the West and he is all of a sudden the 2nd coming

Of all the players who were top ten in assist last season, Trae was the highest ranked one not to get into the All Star game. If he gets in this season, it will be due to deserving it.

[DaGawd]

In terms of most surprising look out for Mitchell Robinson. He's going to start full time now and it seems like he's going to seriously start incorporating the 3 point shot to his game

[Buzzard]

In terms of most surprising look out for Mitchell Robinson. He's going to start full time now and it seems like he's going to seriously start incorporating the 3 point shot to his game

I like Robinson and think he could be a great defensive center. He has to play smarter to stay out of foul trouble. All his numbers look great except FT% and averaging almost 6 personal fouls over 36 minutes.

[DaGawd]

In terms of most surprising look out for Mitchell Robinson. He's going to start full time now and it seems like he's going to seriously start incorporating the 3 point shot to his game

I like Robinson and think he could be a great defensive center. He has to play smarter to stay out of foul trouble. All his numbers look great except FT% and averaging almost 6 personal fouls over 36 minutes.

Yeah definitely on the fouls especially. He picks up on concepts fairly quickly it seems so I do think his foul rate will improve having a year of experience under his belt. His FT shooting got world's better from the beginning of the season to the end once he reconnected with his pre draft trainer.

[udfa]

All will have good seasons except Sexton and perhaps SGA.

Best player will be Doncic. On that list only he and Trae have a good shot of being All-Stars, Trae because the East, Doncic because he's awesome.

I think the East vs West bias is starting to become whiny BS. Some want to say Embiid, Simmons, Giannis etc are only so good because they are in the East. But some of those same people are proclaiming the Unicorn the next great one even though his one previous All Star set of stats were accumulated in the East.

It is becoming like this with some West Coasters: player in East would not be that great ( George, LeBron, Porzingis ) if he was in the West; then player moves to the West and he is all of a sudden the 2nd coming

Of all the players who were top ten in assist last season, Trae was the highest ranked one not to get into the All Star game. If he gets in this season, it will be due to deserving it.

The West won 54 more games than the East last season. It's been 10 years since the East won more games, and usually the West's margin is large. The West had 9 All-NBA players (including 4 1st Team) to the East's 6. It's been 21 years since the East had more players on the All-NBA team. Plus the West has won 13 of the last 20 NBA titles. Sometimes the East champ does win the Finals but its usually as the underdog going in and the East never in the last 20 seasons was stronger top-to-bottom.

Who would you think are the top-10 players? I'm expecting at least Kawhi, LeBron, Steph, Harden, Davis, Dame, PG and Jokic are there in my book.

How many players in the East would even have a reasonable shot of making the West All-Star team this season? Giannis, Embiid, Butler, Simmons, Kyrie, Blake, Beal, Siakam, Oladipo and Lowry are the only ones in my book (and the chances are slim for the latter 3).

How many players in the West would have a reasonable shot of making the East All-Star team this season? Kawhi, LeBron, Steph, Harden, Davis, Dame, PG, Westbrook, Jokic, Towns, Draymond, Aldridge, Gobert, Porzingis, Conley, Paul, Mitchell, DeRozan, Jrue, Doncic, Booker, McCollum, Fox, Russell, Bagley, Ayton, Murray. That's 27 players, a huge disparity even if we would disagree on a few.

The East's record is indefensible. They have been the junior league for two decades. Somehow that doesn't stop people from coming here every offseason and say things are different now. They're always wrong, but sometimes for a few weeks it looks like the East won't be a total embarrassment. When that happens there's a lot more empty talk by East fans rejoicing over winning November, inevitably followed later by complete radio silence on the issue after the months December through April show how wrong they are. Looking forward to it this season!

[dlts20]

In terms of individually turning a team around, Trae

I think Trae is about to do something; or at least get really close to doing something that has not been seen in the East in a very long time. Average 20 points and 10 assist for a whole season.

The Hawks will need Collins, Huerter, Hunter, Parker, Len, Reddish, Crabbe etc to play well but the playoffs are not out of the question. And that my friend would be a turn around.

John Wall says hello

[Buzzard]

All will have good seasons except Sexton and perhaps SGA.

Best player will be Doncic. On that list only he and Trae have a good shot of being All-Stars, Trae because the East, Doncic because he's awesome.

I think the East vs West bias is starting to become whiny BS. Some want to say Embiid, Simmons, Giannis etc are only so good because they are in the East. But some of those same people are proclaiming the Unicorn the next great one even though his one previous All Star set of stats were accumulated in the East.

It is becoming like this with some West Coasters: player in East would not be that great ( George, LeBron, Porzingis ) if he was in the West; then player moves to the West and he is all of a sudden the 2nd coming

Of all the players who were top ten in assist last season, Trae was the highest ranked one not to get into the All Star game. If he gets in this season, it will be due to deserving it.

The West won 54 more games than the East last season. It's been 10 years since the East won more games, and usually the West's margin is large. The West had 9 All-NBA players (including 4 1st Team) to the East's 6. It's been 21 years since the East had more players on the All-NBA team. Plus the West has won 13 of the last 20 NBA titles. Sometimes the East champ does win the Finals but its usually as the underdog going in and the East never in the last 20 seasons was stronger top-to-bottom.

Who would you think are the top-10 players? I'm expecting at least Kawhi, LeBron, Steph, Harden, Davis, Dame, PG and Jokic are there in my book.

How many players in the East would even have a reasonable shot of making the West All-Star team this season? Giannis, Embiid, Butler, Simmons, Kyrie, Blake, Beal, Siakam, Oladipo and Lowry are the only ones in my book (and the chances are slim for the latter 3).

How many players in the West would have a reasonable shot of making the East All-Star team this season? Kawhi, LeBron, Steph, Harden, Davis, Dame, PG, Westbrook, Jokic, Towns, Draymond, Aldridge, Gobert, Porzingis, Conley, Paul, Mitchell, DeRozan, Jrue, Doncic, Booker, McCollum, Fox, Russell, Bagley, Ayton, Murray. That's 27 players, a huge disparity even if we would disagree on a few.

The East's record is indefensible. They have been the junior league for two decades. Somehow that doesn't stop people from coming here every offseason and say things are different now. They're always wrong, but sometimes for a few weeks it looks like the East won't be a total embarrassment. When that happens there's a lot more empty talk by East fans rejoicing over winning November, inevitably followed later by complete radio silence on the issue after the months December through April show how wrong they are. Looking forward to it this season!

A very long winded response which totally misses the point. It does not matter what conference a great player is in, they are still great. Bron, George, Porzingis ( potential to be great ) has nothing to do with where they played. So constantly dishing on players because they are in a weaker conference is just whining in a backwards way.

Its a west coast way of whining because their teams and players could not get past Golden State. Nothing more, nothing less.

[udfa]

I think the East vs West bias is starting to become whiny BS. Some want to say Embiid, Simmons, Giannis etc are only so good because they are in the East. But some of those same people are proclaiming the Unicorn the next great one even though his one previous All Star set of stats were accumulated in the East.

It is becoming like this with some West Coasters: player in East would not be that great ( George, LeBron, Porzingis ) if he was in the West; then player moves to the West and he is all of a sudden the 2nd coming

Of all the players who were top ten in assist last season, Trae was the highest ranked one not to get into the All Star game. If he gets in this season, it will be due to deserving it.

The West won 54 more games than the East last season. It's been 10 years since the East won more games, and usually the West's margin is large. The West had 9 All-NBA players (including 4 1st Team) to the East's 6. It's been 21 years since the East had more players on the All-NBA team. Plus the West has won 13 of the last 20 NBA titles. Sometimes the East champ does win the Finals but its usually as the underdog going in and the East never in the last 20 seasons was stronger top-to-bottom.

Who would you think are the top-10 players? I'm expecting at least Kawhi, LeBron, Steph, Harden, Davis, Dame, PG and Jokic are there in my book.

How many players in the East would even have a reasonable shot of making the West All-Star team this season? Giannis, Embiid, Butler, Simmons, Kyrie, Blake, Beal, Siakam, Oladipo and Lowry are the only ones in my book (and the chances are slim for the latter 3).

How many players in the West would have a reasonable shot of making the East All-Star team this season? Kawhi, LeBron, Steph, Harden, Davis, Dame, PG, Westbrook, Jokic, Towns, Draymond, Aldridge, Gobert, Porzingis, Conley, Paul, Mitchell, DeRozan, Jrue, Doncic, Booker, McCollum, Fox, Russell, Bagley, Ayton, Murray. That's 27 players, a huge disparity even if we would disagree on a few.

The East's record is indefensible. They have been the junior league for two decades. Somehow that doesn't stop people from coming here every offseason and say things are different now. They're always wrong, but sometimes for a few weeks it looks like the East won't be a total embarrassment. When that happens there's a lot more empty talk by East fans rejoicing over winning November, inevitably followed later by complete radio silence on the issue after the months December through April show how wrong they are. Looking forward to it this season!

A very long winded response which totally misses the point. It does not matter what conference a great player is in, they are still great. Bron, George, Porzingis ( potential to be great ) has nothing to do with where they played. So constantly dishing on players because they are in a weaker conference is just whining in a backwards way.

Its a west coast way of whining because their teams and players could not get past Golden State. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I think the East vs West bias is starting to become whiny BS."

That's the point I destroyed. I don't care about the rest of what you had to say. There clearly is a "bias" against West players because the competition there is so much greater. West domination has lasted 20 years and that's not going to change with these current crops of players.

[Buzzard]

The West won 54 more games than the East last season. It's been 10 years since the East won more games, and usually the West's margin is large. The West had 9 All-NBA players (including 4 1st Team) to the East's 6. It's been 21 years since the East had more players on the All-NBA team. Plus the West has won 13 of the last 20 NBA titles. Sometimes the East champ does win the Finals but its usually as the underdog going in and the East never in the last 20 seasons was stronger top-to-bottom.

Who would you think are the top-10 players? I'm expecting at least Kawhi, LeBron, Steph, Harden, Davis, Dame, PG and Jokic are there in my book.

How many players in the East would even have a reasonable shot of making the West All-Star team this season? Giannis, Embiid, Butler, Simmons, Kyrie, Blake, Beal, Siakam, Oladipo and Lowry are the only ones in my book (and the chances are slim for the latter 3).

How many players in the West would have a reasonable shot of making the East All-Star team this season? Kawhi, LeBron, Steph, Harden, Davis, Dame, PG, Westbrook, Jokic, Towns, Draymond, Aldridge, Gobert, Porzingis, Conley, Paul, Mitchell, DeRozan, Jrue, Doncic, Booker, McCollum, Fox, Russell, Bagley, Ayton, Murray. That's 27 players, a huge disparity even if we would disagree on a few.

The East's record is indefensible. They have been the junior league for two decades. Somehow that doesn't stop people from coming here every offseason and say things are different now. They're always wrong, but sometimes for a few weeks it looks like the East won't be a total embarrassment. When that happens there's a lot more empty talk by East fans rejoicing over winning November, inevitably followed later by complete radio silence on the issue after the months December through April show how wrong they are. Looking forward to it this season!

A very long winded response which totally misses the point. It does not matter what conference a great player is in, they are still great. Bron, George, Porzingis ( potential to be great ) has nothing to do with where they played. So constantly dishing on players because they are in a weaker conference is just whining in a backwards way.

Its a west coast way of whining because their teams and players could not get past Golden State. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I think the East vs West bias is starting to become whiny BS."

That's the point I destroyed. I don't care about the rest of what you had to say. There clearly is a "bias" against West players because the competition there is so much greater. West domination has lasted 20 years and that's not going to change with these current crops of players.

Become is the key word. The East has won two of the past four championships, four of the past eight; so stop whining and start winning your own conference

[udfa]

A very long winded response which totally misses the point. It does not matter what conference a great player is in, they are still great. Bron, George, Porzingis ( potential to be great ) has nothing to do with where they played. So constantly dishing on players because they are in a weaker conference is just whining in a backwards way.

Its a west coast way of whining because their teams and players could not get past Golden State. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I think the East vs West bias is starting to become whiny BS."

That's the point I destroyed. I don't care about the rest of what you had to say. There clearly is a "bias" against West players because the competition there is so much greater. West domination has lasted 20 years and that's not going to change with these current crops of players.

Become is the key word. The East has won two of the past four championships, four of the past eight, so stop whining and start winning your own conference

Good luck to the Hawks. Good young core. I think they could even make the playoffs...because they're in the East.