Around The NBA : 2025-26

Dan Z · Post #401 » by **Dan Z** » Wed Oct 29, 2025 9:18 pm

I saw a clip from Bills Simmons podcast with Tim Legler and they talked about how good Lonzo Ball is.

It got me to look up his stats and his FG % is .278. Ouch!

nomorezorro · Post #402 » by **nomorezorro** » Wed Oct 29, 2025 10:00 pm

people are (understandably!) into the aesthetics of the best parts of lonzo's game and it makes them overlook the bad parts

Avery W · Post #403 » by **Avery W** » Yesterday 1:18 am

Trae Young left with an injury in the first quarter vs. the Nets after Mo Gueye fell into his knee.

Looked painful but not immediately obvious how severe.

Jcool0 · Post #404 » by **Jcool0** » Yesterday 4:10 am

How does Minnesota let Austin Reaves get that close to the basket with 6 seconds left? LA has no one but him to take that shot. Complete breakdown by the Timberwolves.

Seccci · Post #405 » by **Seccci** » Yesterday 4:23 am

Jcool0 wrote:How does Minisota let Austin Reaves get that close to the basket with 6 seconds left? LA has no one but him to take that shot. Complete breakdown by the Timberwolves.

Their defense last couple months is overrated . Gobert still makes a difference, but it's not as pronounced as during his Utah Jazz days. Unfortunately for timberwolves, they had their peak and all those tinkering trades just missed and didn't make a difference, which is a shame cause ANT is a championship level talent. Will go the way of big ticket KG, will find success on another team.

Jcool0 · Post #406 » by **Jcool0** » Yesterday 4:29 am

Seccci wrote:
Jcool0 wrote:How does Minisota let Austin Reaves get that close to the basket with 6 seconds left? LA has no one but him to take that shot. Complete breakdown by the Timberwolves.

Their defense last couple months is overrated . Gobert still makes a difference, but it's not as pronounced as during his Utah Jazz days. Unfortunately for timberwolves, they had their peak and all those tinkering trades just missed and didn't make a difference, which is a shame cause ANT is a championship level talent. Will go the way of big ticket KG, will find success on another team.

Gobert shouldn't of been on the court

Avery W · Post #407 » by **Avery W** » Yesterday 5:06 am

Could ORL have traded for Reaves instead of Bane? Feels like a potentially better fit.

Post #408 » by **Ice Man** » Yesterday 11:13 am

Dan Z wrote:I saw a clip from Bills Simmons podcast with Tim Legler and they talked about how good Lonzo Ball is.

It got me to look up his stats and his FG % is .278. Ouch!

Okoro isn't much but we're kidding ourselves if we think that Lonzo has gas left in his NBA tank.

MrSparkle · Post #409 » by **MrSparkle** » Yesterday 3:46 pm

Ice Man wrote:
Dan Z wrote:I saw a clip from Bills Simmons podcast with Tim Legler and they talked about how good Lonzo Ball is.

It got me to look up his stats and his FG % is .278. Ouch!

Okoro isn't much but we're kidding ourselves if we think that Lonzo has gas left in his NBA tank.

Well, the play with him would be to save him for the playoffs. But it does look like last year's defensive mobility was that common honeymoon effect where an injured player comes back looking good, and has a rough follow-up season. Of course his percentages were rusty, but his defense looked good last season. It looks like he's in the negatives this year, which is alarming since that was his forte, but also, he's on a team with some of the best rim protectors in the league.

sco · Post #410 » by **sco** » Yesterday 3:58 pm

MrSparkle wrote:
Ice Man wrote:
Dan Z wrote:I saw a clip from Bills Simmons podcast with Tim Legler and they talked about how good Lonzo Ball is.

It got me to look up his stats and his FG % is .278. Ouch!

Okoro isn't much but we're kidding ourselves if we think that Lonzo has gas left in his NBA tank.

Well, the play with him would be to save him for the playoffs. But it does look like last year's defensive mobility was that common honeymoon effect where an injured player comes back looking good, and has a rough follow-up season. Of course his percentages were rusty, but his defense looked good last season. It looks like he's in the negatives this year, which is alarming since that was his forte, but also, he's on a team with some of the best rim protectors in the league.

I still think his offense will improve. He's dealing with a new team and that usually hurts guys %'s. That said, he's still a very good defender, but he's not a great half court facilitator because he could never score inside the arc or do much penetrating off the dribble.

Jcool0 · Post #411 » by **Jcool0** » Yesterday 4:16 pm

Per36 for Ball 5.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.5 steals.

Post #412 » by **Ice Man** » Yesterday 4:41 pm

Jcool0 wrote:Per36 for Ball 5.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.5 steals.

Those are impressivec figures, I will grant.

The Force. · Post #413 » by **The Force.** » Yesterday 5:17 pm

I think the Okoro/Ball deal was one of those rare trades that benefited both teams.

Unfortunately neither player seems to be able to shoot.

Red Larrivee · Post #414 » by **Red Larrivee** » Yesterday 5:21 pm

The Force. wrote:I think the Okoro/Ball deal was one of those rare trades that benefited both teams.

Unfortunately neither player seems to be able to shoot.

It's not the trade I thought would happen, but it's fine. Okoro has played well defensively, improves our athleticism and is available every game in theory. So, there's that.

Post #415 » by **HomoSapien** » Yesterday 5:29 pm

*Sigh*, that Pelicans pick is looking awfuly valuable right now.

Post #416 » by **HomoSapien** » Yesterday 6:24 pm

Here's Bob Costas' intro for the Warriors - Clippers game (he also did the Knicks and Bucks).

Watch on YouTube

I think a lot of us feel like the quality of the NBA brand has gone down over the years. A lot of people blame rule changes and officiating, but I think an underrated reason is that the NBA left NBC. Just watch this intro. They have this unique ability of making an early regular season game feel like it matters deeply. What they get that ABC/ESPN never did (and even TNT to a lesser extent) is that there's a storytelling component to sports. I think we diminished the brand by handing over the sport to networks that valued hot takes from loudmouth announcers over a network that prioritized the beauty of the game.

Dan Z · Post #417 » by **Dan Z** » Yesterday 6:31 pm

The Force. wrote:I think the Okoro/Ball deal was one of those rare trades that benefited both teams.

Unfortunately neither player seems to be able to shoot.

My issue with the trade is that there was a point in time when they could've got Marcus Smart plus a first for Lonzo, but they turned it down (at least I think they did..?).

Indomitable · Post #418 » by **Indomitable** » Yesterday 7:04 pm

Dan Z wrote:I saw a clip from Bills Simmons podcast with Tim Legler and they talked about how good Lonzo Ball is.

It got me to look up his stats and his FG % is .278. Ouch!

Lonzo if he not hitting from 3 will not drive.

Indomitable · Post #419 » by **Indomitable** » Yesterday 7:05 pm

Dan Z wrote:
The Force. wrote:I think the Okoro/Ball deal was one of those rare trades that benefited both teams.

Unfortunately neither player seems to be able to shoot.

My issue with the trade is that there was a point in time when they could've got Marcus Smart plus a first for Lonzo, but they turned it down (at least I think they did..?).

We would have Smart here. Because the Reinsdorfs will not cut a check without you earning it.

jnrjr79 · Post #420 » by **jnrjr79** » Yesterday 7:21 pm

Indomitable wrote:
Dan Z wrote:
The Force. wrote:I think the Okoro/Ball deal was one of those rare trades that benefited both teams.

Unfortunately neither player seems to be able to shoot.

My issue with the trade is that there was a point in time when they could've got Marcus Smart plus a first for Lonzo, but they turned it down (at least I think they did..?).

We would have Smart here. Because the Reinsdorfs will not cut a check without you earning it.

I enjoy a good "Reinsdorf is cheap" crack as much as the next guy, but this is obviously historically untrue (e.g. Boozer, Wade).