2024 NBA Preseason Discussion & Game Thread! (October 4-18)

[perempe20]

Watch on YouTube

this is my favourite channel.

[Edrees]

If Clippers dont get 60 games out of Kawhi, i dont know how they make the playoffs. Im not even sure 60 games is enough

they were 4 games from having to be in playin last year and that's with 68 games of Kawhi and 74 games of paul george. i just dont see it for them this year

[MrTribbiani]

Awful Coaching has some videos on Bronny. check them out!

Hopefully he is more critical of players like Jalen Hood Schifino, Jett Howard, etc. First round picks who played terribly last year deserve more scrutiny than a late second rounder.

I think Bronny is more relevant bc he doesn’t belong in the NBA or Gleague. He has no skill set and wouldn’t even start for a good D1 team (he prob wouldn’t even be a really good D2 player). Even beyond that, it’s been an elaborate scheme involving coaches, trainers, scouts to get Bronny to this point. Highlighting how unskilled he is shines a light on this.


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Weak argument.

Guys like Jalen Hood Schifino and Jett Howard deserve more smoke due to their draft position. Giving those guys a pass makes no logical sense.

[magee]

And Johnny Davis.

[Decipher]

Read on Twitter

[God Squad]

I know its only the preseason but Risacher looks like a seasoned vet out there. Probably will be starting by game 20.

He looks way better than 'veteran' Hunter to me

Indeed. The sad part is that Hunter is a solid player but his offense is very inconsistent. One thing I noticed about him since his rookie year is that whenever he hits a shot, he usually has an expression on his face like "wow, I made one". That always bothered me. Doesn't serve well for his self confidence.

This just isn't true. He's not solid at all IMO. But yes, Risacher is already better than that bum

[ChuckChilly]

He looks way better than 'veteran' Hunter to me

Indeed. The sad part is that Hunter is a solid player but his offense is very inconsistent. One thing I noticed about him since his rookie year is that whenever he hits a shot, he usually has an expression on his face like "wow, I made one". That always bothered me. Doesn't serve well for his self confidence.

This just isn't true. He's not solid at all IMO. But yes, Risacher is already better than that bum

He's flawed but by no means a bum. 16 PPG, 4 rebs, 2 assist (rounding up) 46% FG, 39% 3PT, and 85% FT in 30 mins last season.

[God Squad]

Indeed. The sad part is that Hunter is a solid player but his offense is very inconsistent. One thing I noticed about him since his rookie year is that whenever he hits a shot, he usually has an expression on his face like "wow, I made one". That always bothered me. Doesn't serve well for his self confidence.

This just isn't true. He's not solid at all IMO. But yes, Risacher is already better than that bum

He's flawed but by no means a bum. 16 PPG, 4 rebs, 2 assist (rounding up) 46% FG, 39% 3PT, and 85% FT in 30 mins last season.

He's a negative in BPM, OBPM, DBPM, VORP and adds little in win shares. Advanced stats don't love him, and I care little about the raw numbers without looking deeper.

[ChuckChilly]

This just isn't true. He's not solid at all IMO. But yes, Risacher is already better than that bum

He's flawed but by no means a bum. 16 PPG, 4 rebs, 2 assist (rounding up) 46% FG, 39% 3PT, and 85% FT in 30 mins last season.

He's a negative in BPM, OBPM, DBPM, VORP and adds little in win shares. Advanced stats don't love him, and I care little about the raw numbers without looking deeper.

Honestly, I don't even know what most of those stats mean. But I watch practically every Hawks game and what I see is player that will play 5 good games then 4 below average ones. Sometimes he's our most consistent player in stretches then flips to be being our most inconsistent or invisible.

But even with those fluctuations he still manages to put up good percentages overall. He may not be the versatile defender we thought he would be, but in certain match ups he definitely holds his own. So the foundation of him being a solid player is there. It's why he got the contract he got.

[sikma42]

Hopefully he is more critical of players like Jalen Hood Schifino, Jett Howard, etc. First round picks who played terribly last year deserve more scrutiny than a late second rounder.

I think Bronny is more relevant bc he doesn’t belong in the NBA or Gleague. He has no skill set and wouldn’t even start for a good D1 team (he prob wouldn’t even be a really good D2 player). Even beyond that, it’s been an elaborate scheme involving coaches, trainers, scouts to get Bronny to this point. Highlighting how unskilled he is shines a light on this.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Weak argument.

Guys like Jalen Hood Schifino and Jett Howard deserve more smoke due to their draft position. Giving those guys a pass makes no logical sense.

I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding the issue. Bronny deserves the smoke because he should have never been drafted or given a multi-year guaranteed contract (he knows he isnt good enough). This is as much about talent as it is about scheme involving 100s of people that culminated in Bronny getting a place in the NBA.

Unless you think JHS getting drafted made absolutely no sense then its not relevant. Again, this will come out over time, but 100s of people had to be complicit in creating the narrative that Bronny was worthy of being a HS All American and had any potential to be a NBA player. That's the issue. It's not about some random 55th draft pick. It's about a system that built up Bronny while knowing he was a bum and convincing the public of this falsehood.

Bronny wouldn't even be a star in Division 3 basketball but he is on a mult-year contract in the NBA. I still think there is a misunderstanding about how bad Bronny is at basketball. When he goes to the G-League it's going to be pretty obvious.

[zshawn10]

Klay has now amassed a bit of streak, along with his final game in Golden State

3/28 FG

3/17 3P

5 TO

71 minutes

[Crunch 99]

With Doncic and Irving commanding so much attention, there is still some chance Klay gets to a decent 3p% this regular season, but the Mavs need three and D, and there is no chance old Klay gives them that imo.

[OkcSinceSGA]

I was at Intuit Dome for the first basketball game ever. Kenyon Martin shook my hand and said hi. What a night. The food was all trash though and I tried multiple things.

People laughably low on the Clippers as expected. They are the #2 ranked defense in preseason despite no Kawhi. They forced 29 turnovers last night, had 20 steals. I keep warning people how good they are going to be defensively. I realize it’s just preseason, but a bunch of new guys shouldn’t be this cohesive defensively.

Their effort in the passing lanes has been incredible. Kai Jones is getting really good as a backup protecting the paint. This team is a lock for a top 5 defense if they don’t have too many injuries, probably top 3.

OKC #1 seed and first title for a dynasty.

LAC #7 seed out in competitive 1st round.

[Spree2Houston]

Read on Twitter

[MrTribbiani]

I think Bronny is more relevant bc he doesn’t belong in the NBA or Gleague. He has no skill set and wouldn’t even start for a good D1 team (he prob wouldn’t even be a really good D2 player). Even beyond that, it’s been an elaborate scheme involving coaches, trainers, scouts to get Bronny to this point. Highlighting how unskilled he is shines a light on this.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Weak argument.

Guys like Jalen Hood Schifino and Jett Howard deserve more smoke due to their draft position. Giving those guys a pass makes no logical sense.

I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding the issue. Bronny deserves the smoke because he should have never been drafted or given a multi-year guaranteed contract (he knows he isnt good enough). This is as much about talent as it is about scheme involving 100s of people that culminated in Bronny getting a place in the NBA.

Unless you think JHS getting drafted made absolutely no sense then its not relevant. Again, this will come out over time, but 100s of people had to be complicit in creating the narrative that Bronny was worthy of being a HS All American and had any potential to be a NBA player. That's the issue. It's not about some random 55th draft pick. It's about a system that built up Bronny while knowing he was a bum and convincing the public of this falsehood.

Bronny wouldn't even be a star in Division 3 basketball but he is on a mult-year contract in the NBA. I still think there is a misunderstanding about how bad Bronny is at basketball. When he goes to the G-League it's going to be pretty obvious.

You are misunderstanding the point and making a mountain out of a molehill.

First of all, his contract is very cheap (for NBA standards). Second of all, according to several scouts/recruiting services he was good enough to be ranked fairly high when he was in high school. His production in college was not substantial; however, he was not the first and he won't be the last player to be a dud at the college level and then get picked in the second round by a team to see if maybe he can provide some value at the NBA level. The added benefit in his case is that the Lakers are taking a very low-risk gamble on him.

Kicking the tires on a player in the late second round is very different from using a fairly high draft slot on another player. It is relevant to compare Bronny to Jalen HS. Jalen HS was the 17th pick of the 2023 draft, and so far he has been pretty bad for a guy drafted in that range. The Lakers are investing more in him (from a financial standpoint) and if he doesn't pan out and if more players who were drafted after him keep outperforming him (a few already have), that pick is gonna keep looking worse and worse. In comparison, if a late second rounder doesn't work out, it's no big deal because the vast majority of them don't work out anyway.

Ultimately, it makes no logical sense to be mad at a team for gambling on a player (who was ranked fairly high in high school) in the late second round at a low cost. As a Lakers fan, Jalen HS deserves way more smoke because of the fact that he has been disappointing for a player picked in the top 20 who is making about 4 million per year. The team could have drafted some of the following players who were drafted after him and who have outperformed him: Jaime Jaquez, Brandin Podziemski, Cam Whitmore, or GG Jackson.

[sikma42]

Weak argument.

Guys like Jalen Hood Schifino and Jett Howard deserve more smoke due to their draft position. Giving those guys a pass makes no logical sense.

I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding the issue. Bronny deserves the smoke because he should have never been drafted or given a multi-year guaranteed contract (he knows he isnt good enough). This is as much about talent as it is about scheme involving 100s of people that culminated in Bronny getting a place in the NBA.

Unless you think JHS getting drafted made absolutely no sense then its not relevant. Again, this will come out over time, but 100s of people had to be complicit in creating the narrative that Bronny was worthy of being a HS All American and had any potential to be a NBA player. That's the issue. It's not about some random 55th draft pick. It's about a system that built up Bronny while knowing he was a bum and convincing the public of this falsehood.

Bronny wouldn't even be a star in Division 3 basketball but he is on a mult-year contract in the NBA. I still think there is a misunderstanding about how bad Bronny is at basketball. When he goes to the G-League it's going to be pretty obvious.

You are misunderstanding the point and making a mountain out of a molehill.

First of all, his contract is very cheap (for NBA standards). Second of all, according to several scouts/recruiting services he was good enough to be ranked fairly high when he was in high school. His production in college was not substantial; however, he was not the first and he won't be the last player to be a dud at the college level and then get picked in the second round by a team to see if maybe he can provide some value at the NBA level. The added benefit in his case is that the Lakers are taking a very low-risk gamble on him.

Kicking the tires on a player in the late second round is very different from using a fairly high draft slot on another player. It is relevant to compare Bronny to Jalen HS. Jalen HS was the 17th pick of the 2023 draft, and so far he has been pretty bad for a guy drafted in that range. The Lakers are investing more in him (from a financial standpoint) and if he doesn't pan out and if more players who were drafted after him keep outperforming him (a few already have), that pick is gonna keep looking worse and worse. In comparison, if a late second rounder doesn't work out, it's no big deal because the vast majority of them don't work out anyway.

Ultimately, it makes no logical sense to be mad at a team for gambling on a player (who was ranked fairly high in high school) in the late second round at a low cost. As a Lakers fan, Jalen HS deserves way more smoke because of the fact that he has been disappointing for a player picked in the top 20 who is making about 4 million per year. The team could have drafted some of the following players who were drafted after him and who have outperformed him: Jaime Jaquez, Brandin Podziemski, Cam Whitmore, or GG Jackson.

1. Sounds like you are missing the point and using strawmen. I've never said nor inferred that I'm mad at the team. I'm disappointed in the system that allowed this to happen, which includes 100s of scouts, coaches and basketball personal at all levels.

2. You referenced his high school scouting. Thanks, that's what I'm referring to. It was all bs since day 1. It was obvious that he was not a McDonalads All-American level player or a 4 star prospect. It's again all part of the system I've been referring to.

3. Re JHS: Its not even about the performance after getting drafting. Its the fact that Bronny should have never been drafted or signed by an NBA team on a guaranteed contract. There is no basketball argument for it and that the reason why it needs to be called out. You say that other teams have taken a 2nd round flyer and it didn't work out ---> then I'm sure I can find some legit basketball rationale or they didn't just intentionally gift some bad basketball player a multiyear guaranteed contract before setting foot in summer league.

This isn't about who the Lakers could have drafted or who they could have signed or what they could have done with the money. This is about shining a light on the system that collapsed under the pressure of Lebron/Klutch and had coaches/scouts pretend like Bronny was good for years.

Players don't pan out every year. That is expected. What's not expected is that coaches and GMs would fall in line behind the Bronny lie. That's the story. It will all come out. It's been obvious for anyone who has watched over the last 3 or 4 years.

[Homer38]

Not the best first quarter for the celtics....The raptors had 44 points with like 2 minutes left in the quarter!

[bisme37]

Raps are shooting 71% from 3 and Celtics 20%. Like some legit Bizarro World ish where they stole our shooting powers lol.

Scal does a show on NBA radio and apparently talked about how the Raps are a terrible shooting team this morning. So I blame him obviously.

[Homer38]

Raps are shooting 71% from 3 and Celtics 20%. Like some legit Bizarro World ish where they stole our shooting powers lol.

Scal does a show on NBA radio and apparently talked about how the Raps are a terrible shooting team this morning. So I blame him obviously.

Raptors had 10 make 3 in the first quarter!

[whatisacenter]

so glad Herro shaved those pubes off his chin from last season.