2025 Preseason Thread

[Bassman]

Finished watching and my summary observations:

Lee really used the main guys a lot trying to get some traction. Early sloppy, but they got fired up to tighten it Q2. Still looked like OK. Was largely playing without concern, pushing the accelerator when needed.

Melo was working harder on defense, with some hits and some misses, but the effort was there. Still so inconsistent at times. If he was on a super talented roster that played strong both ways, his gifts would be magnified. But he cannot carry a team night in and night out. Miller started slow, struggled to maintain dribble drives into the lane. Hard to know how he makes this come around, but it’s early and he’s still getting confidence in the wrist.

Sexton with a much better game tonight. I can see him starting with Melo playing more off-ball depending on matchups. Mann started slow, got hotter in second half. Moose was decent, showing his strengths and weaknesses. Barring a trade, he likely starts, plays most minutes, followed by Plumb. Kalk is just so limited on perimeter defense it’s pitiful. Not built for this league as anything but a deep reserve.

Miles looks lost again. Tiddy is just not coming along offensively but improved on D and rebounding.

Just so many ways this team looks like a group of guys who play ball but just don’t measure up to NBA level.

[amcoolio]

Gonna be honest, LaMelo is just very disappointing and I don't think it will happen here for him. Might happen for his next team. He should be dominating like Cade, Tyrese, Maxey, or SGA on offense at the very least with this many NBA seasons, and he just isn't.

It's just so disheartening that teams that were sucking with us have clearly jumped up levels and left us in the dust

[GoBobs]

Gonna be honest, LaMelo is just very disappointing and I don't think it will happen here for him. Might happen for his next team. He should be dominating like Cade, Tyrese, Maxey, or SGA on offense at the very least with this many NBA seasons, and he just isn't.

It's just so disheartening that teams that were sucking with us have clearly jumped up levels and left us in the dust

Ahh... LaMelo was 5-8 and we lost to the Thunder on the road by 6.

Kon, Salaun, KJ Simpson and Liam McNeeley went 5-27. Younger guys and role players just tend to play better at home.

[fatlever]

What happened to liam? He had so much Swagger in vegas.

And still waiting for just a sliver of something that looks like an NBA basketball player from Sion

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

[JMAC3]

What happened to liam? He had so much Swagger in vegas.

And still waiting for just a sliver of something that looks like an NBA basketball player from Sion

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

Having high expectations for the 29th, 33rd and 34th players is setting yourself up for failure. If any of those three guys are rotation players this year that will be a surprise, not the expectation.

[JMAC3]

What happened to liam? He had so much Swagger in vegas.

And still waiting for just a sliver of something that looks like an NBA basketball player from Sion

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

Having high expectations for the 29th, 33rd and 34th players is setting yourself up for failure. If any of those three guys are rotation players this year that will be a surprise, not the expectation.

Especially if your expectations are based on how they performed in SL vs non-NBA talent.

[JMAC3]

Gonna be honest, LaMelo is just very disappointing and I don't think it will happen here for him. Might happen for his next team. He should be dominating like Cade, Tyrese, Maxey, or SGA on offense at the very least with this many NBA seasons, and he just isn't.

It's just so disheartening that teams that were sucking with us have clearly jumped up levels and left us in the dust

It is the preseason, not really the point of the game for LaMelo to go out and try to put the team on his back. The goal is to allow as many players to find a rhythm as possible. LaMelo had 15 pts on 8 shots. Shai had 16 pts on 9 shots. Maxey has 14 pts on 14 shots in one game and 16 pts on 10 shots in the other.

Melo is the last guy on this roster I care about how they look in preseason.

[Bassman]

What happened to liam? He had so much Swagger in vegas.

And still waiting for just a sliver of something that looks like an NBA basketball player from Sion

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

Indeed he was fluid and very effective in SL. Seems the speed of the Big NBA is naturally affecting him. Operating within this large varied group of teammates is tough too, given the run he gets is often mixed differently each time. Still, it’s what all rookies deal with. Liam will need time with the Swarm. Sion showed some flashes of his defense, but he’s a long shot to ever stick on this team IMO. I thought it was a strange pick at the time given the plethora of guards.

[fatlever]

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[Bassman]

Today’s game like going from the frying pan to the fire, or something like that. Mav’s bringing the prodigy we should have been able to draft had we had any real luck or fairness from “the odds” (thanks Skeletor). Hope these Hornets can start channeling some consistency. They certainly were better in game 2 than the opening contest.