All-Premature Reactions Thread

Mr.Raptorsingh · Post #201 » by **Mr.Raptorsingh** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 6:15 pm

He's improved his skill-level it appears.

MrCheerios · Post #202 » by **MrCheerios** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 6:28 pm

He's playing so well even Mavs fans are in disbelief.

BayInferno · Post #203 » by **BayInferno** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 7:02 pm

Johnny Firpo wrote:
BayInferno wrote:Averaging 33/6/5 on 50/40/90 shooting 8 games in. He's vastly improved at the rim and at drawing fouls. Guy keeps getting better. Proved all the people who said he'd peak early due to his age completely wrong.

Not convinced yet. If you check his first four seasons, they are all very similar in terms of averages and efficiency, only his usage increased. This season he is putting up legit superstar stats, which he never did before. I'm not buying it yet. I mean, 33 points on 65%TS, after being around 56%TS consistently for four years? If he can keep this up, it would mean he turned into a superstar from being an All-Star, at the age of 26. Has this ever happened? I don't think it did.

Stephen Curry?

Wizenheimer · Post #204 » by **Wizenheimer** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 7:13 pm

Hindenburg wrote:He might be good enough this year to make the all Star team without crying

and maybe Minny will be good enough to climb out of the top-10 of the lottery

Johnny Firpo · Post #205 » by **Johnny Firpo** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 8:23 pm

BayInferno wrote:Stephen Curry?

Not sure he is the best example. For starters, he was always super efficient, and he also had injuries that postponed his breakout year, which really wasn't last year, and probably not even his MVP season, but the season before that. Or maybe it was his MVP season, but even if that is the case, I still think that two factors (being super efficient and having injuries) set him apart from Lillard in this context.

Mc-o · Post #206 » by **Mc-o** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 8:25 pm

MarcusBrody wrote:ESPN big headline today: "Pressure Gauge: How will Cavaliers Handle First Loss as Champs"

Spoiler ESPN, they will handle it fine.

Lol I laughed when I saw that article lol

Roy The Natural · Post #207 » by **Roy The Natural** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 8:28 pm

Winsome Gerbil wrote:I hope people just understand that this is not going to last. He may well have improved, but the roster is similar, the coach is the same...and in the first 8 games a guy who shot .419 last year, and .428 for his career, is suddenly shooting .506?

Maybe.. but instead of looking at stats, it's probably more prudent to watch the games.

Lillard is more aggressive this year, and finishing around the rim at an astounding level. Lillard is taking more shots at the rim, and also drawing more fouls due to going to the rim more. THAT is why his efficiency is up.

I do also think it's prudent to note something that MANY MANY MANY posters forget. This is Lillard's second year being the man/go to scorer in Portland.

We forget that last year Lillard had to learn how to score without good players all over the court, and with that comes an adjustment period. Whether the injury is overblown or not we also note that Lillard had a torn plantar fasciatus last year since December. Now I do not believe his current numbers are completely sustainable. But I see no reason that at age 26 right at the onset of his prime he can not take another step up. Especially when you consider the way in which he's scoring.. all you have to do is watch the games to see that other than a few classic heating up shots he's scoring in a much wider variety of ways than he ever has before.

ItsThatEasy · Post #208 » by **ItsThatEasy** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 8:36 pm

Looking over draft prospects from the last few years (Josh Jackson specifically) and almost every uber-athletic player gets hit with the "jump shot needs work but will improve with reps" tag.

It's thrown out there like it's a given yet it almost NEVER happens for these freak show athletes.

LeBron's 3 Point Percentage peaking at 40% is amazing to me for this reason. The guy truly went out and developed a serviceable jumper as an athletic freak of nature.

Would love to see if recent "athletic" prospects like Wiggins, Simmons, Wall, Mudiay, Exum will ever get to that 40% mark.

binjumper · Post #209 » by **binjumper** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 8:39 pm

Post #210 » by **cupcakesnake** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 8:46 pm

his 40% was an outlier. Career 33% 3-pt shooter, 32% in the playoffs. Only had 2 other seasons where he shot over 35%. I mean he could be worse... but do we really need another reason to appreciate Lebron?

Post #211 » by **cupcakesnake** » Wed Nov 9, 2016 8:48 pm

only 6 games into the season and this wont keep up but Andrew Wiggins is leading the NBA in 3-pt%. He hasn't sustained quality outside shooting in his career yet, but I would bet on Wiggins ending up a better outside shooter the Bronbron.

blackstar · Post #212 » by **blackstar** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 1:30 am

Never understood why this guy got so little love compared to guys like Drummond, Gobert, Adams, etc. When centers are weak offensive players people tend to overlook that while being a weak defender is like a cardinal sin. Solid man-to-man defender, top 3 in offensive center, good guy and has even expanded his range out to 3 point territory this season. His only weaknesses have been pick and roll defense and injuries. With the talks that he might get traded this season, teams better not low-ball just because he's on a bad team.

RCM88x · Post #213 » by **RCM88x** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 1:34 am

He plays for a bad team that no one cares about because they aren't the Knicks or Lakers

blackstar · Post #214 » by **blackstar** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 1:36 am

RCM88x wrote:He plays for a bad team that no one cares about because they aren't the Knicks or Lakers

Drummond? Gobert? Jokic? Nurkic? Len? Vucevic?

Statlanta · Post #215 » by **Statlanta** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 1:41 am

blackstar wrote:
RCM88x wrote:He plays for a bad team that no one cares about because they aren't the Knicks or Lakers

Drummond? Gobert? Jokic? Nurkic? Len? Vucevic?

I don't think people care about Vooch too much. Also he is the only one of these guys other the Drummond to be an All-Star
He was an All-Star but yeah very few value his player type in the modern NBA. In the pace and space era his weaknesses are really pronounced while his strengths are really downplayed. As a pretty chill guy I hope he leads the Nets to a somewhat respectable season.

BayInferno · Post #216 » by **BayInferno** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 2:20 am

Roy The Natural wrote:
Winsome Gerbil wrote:I hope people just understand that this is not going to last. He may well have improved, but the roster is similar, the coach is the same...and in the first 8 games a guy who shot .419 last year, and .428 for his career, is suddenly shooting .506?

Maybe.. but instead of looking at stats, it's probably more prudent to watch the games.

Lillard is more aggressive this year, and finishing around the rim at an astounding level. Lillard is taking more shots at the rim, and also drawing more fouls due to going to the rim more. THAT is why his efficiency is up.

I do also think it's prudent to note something that MANY MANY MANY posters forget. This is Lillard's second year being the man/go to scorer in Portland.

We forget that last year Lillard had to learn how to score without good players all over the court, and with that comes an adjustment period. Whether the injury is overblown or not we also note that Lillard had a torn plantar fasciatus last year since December. Now I do not believe his current numbers are completely sustainable. But I see no reason that at age 26 right at the onset of his prime he can not take another step up. Especially when you consider the way in which he's scoring.. all you have to do is watch the games to see that other than a few classic heating up shots he's scoring in a much wider variety of ways than he ever has before.

Yup. He's been great at drawing fouls and has been finishing 70%+ at the rim. That's obviously bound to go down because 70% is insane, but its still definitely much better than last year. And his ability to draw fouls should stay the same as it is right now.

Post #217 » by **Klomp** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 2:34 am

"Are the Timberwolves tanking again?"

Winsome Gerbil · Post #218 » by **Winsome Gerbil** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 5:33 am

Not that I want to say I told you so about Dame eventually coming back down to earth.

But...

Roy The Natural · Post #219 » by **Roy The Natural** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 5:38 am

Winsome Gerbil wrote:Not that I want to say I told you so about Dame eventually coming back down to earth.

But...

For real dude... shouldn't you wait til he has more than 1 game where he struggles to pull an I told you so?...

Especially during a blowout on a back to back against the best team in the NBA right now, and the best defense.

Winsome Gerbil · Post #220 » by **Winsome Gerbil** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 6:24 am

Roy The Natural wrote:
Winsome Gerbil wrote:Not that I want to say I told you so about Dame eventually coming back down to earth.

But...

For real dude... shouldn't you wait til he has more than 1 game where he struggles to pull an I told you so?...

Especially during a blowout on a back to back against the best team in the NBA right now, and the best defense.

No, I really shouldn't. Because I didn't say he was going to suck. I said he was still going to be Dame Lillard putting up recognizable Dame Lillard numbers in the end. Not that he was an 8pt scorer. Just that it all balances out in the end. Great games, 8pt games, an occasional 15pt on 5-17 shooting night, a 23pt on 7-18 shooting night, and...guys his age will eventually resemble guys his age.

Fully expect him to remain a 25+ per game scorer however.