Preseason Kings v Lakers

[Slava]

Miles,

You do understand the Nets team last year had Lopez and hardly anybody else worth mentioning. The top assist guy and the #2 scorer per game was Lin who was injured for most of the season. Even if you put Magic in that team instead of Lopez, they are a top 3 lottery team.

Even last year he kept them in games and won them games they had no business winning. Nobody should doubt this guy's ability based on the Nets team record.

You can argue Lin had more to do with them winning if you looked at their record with him and without. And no I'm not a Lin fan. Lol I like how Lopez fits with Ball.

If Lopez sat and Lin played they'd lose games too. That roster had may be two competent NBA caliber players, Lopez and Lin.

[stan francisco]

I still don't understand how Russell and Lonzo couldn't coexist.

This. He's a killer shooter. Truly has ice in his veins.

Ingram is apparently now 6'11". Grew two inches since his rookie season. He's bound to be slower while his muscle mass adjusts and so on. Not worried about him long term.

[stan francisco]

I've watched every game so far since the summer league. None of our guys, except Ball and Kuzma, are good enough to be sacred cows. Nobody else has been that good.

Alex Caruso, on the other hand, is no fluke. Re-watch some of his games. He is a dynamic guard. He can run the pick and roll, can pass with either hand, sling the ball over his shoulder, bend it around screens, thread the needle, pocket pass, drop off pass, etc. He's got the whole playmaking package.

And there is some sauce to his passing game; he takes good risks, not unlike Ginobili. He has GREAT vision. He finds players, generates movement, without dominating the ball or over-dribbling.

And he's not just passing, he's creating. He is generating quality shots. Good things happen when he's on the court, and that's important on a team where we have too many players causing bad things.

Yet he can also shoot that three consistently, play off the ball, and rebound very well as a wing. Great moving to the open spot.

He doesn't have great speed but has great hustle. He has surprisingly held his own against guys like Fox. Good hands, doesn't back down, excellent anticipation, etc. He also has good size and strength, and knows how to compensate for whatever he lacks in visible quickness. He's almost position less, he just has a knack of being in the right place and the right time - and doing the right thing.

Intangibles in spades, but if you look closer, the intangibles are quite salient. His play shows up in the stat sheet - he fills it up.

Overall, I'm ecstatic about him, because he knows how to play winning basketball. No, I don't care where anybody is from or what your background is, where you were drafted - the draft stops mattering after it's over. He's one of the best young point guards I've seen in the past couple of years.

Kuzma was a steal, but so is Caruso. More importantly, he looks ready for the next level.

I agree on all of the above based on what I saw in SL. Haven't seen more than highlights so far. Loved his game in SL. Great vision and timing on passes. Very smart player.

How was Caruso's defense?

Hart is a guard who absolutely brings it on the defensive end, might be another untouchable when healthy. There will be competition. Weber is my dark horse for the season. He's also a defensive force. I think he'll steal someone else's minutes this season but don't know from whom. Caruso's defense didn't make an impression on me in SL.

[iamworthy]

What the heck is Brandon out there doing.

[Slava]

I thought Randle's defense was excellent.

[snaquille oatmeal]

I still don't understand how Russell and Lonzo couldn't coexist.

This. He's a killer shooter. Truly has ice in his veins.

Ingram is apparently now 6'11". Grew two inches since his rookie season. He's bound to be slower while his muscle mass adjusts and so on. Not worried about him long term.

this was debunked by Ingram on the media day interview

Watch on YouTube

[Kilroy]

I still don't understand how Russell and Lonzo couldn't coexist.

This. He's a killer shooter. Truly has ice in his veins.

Ingram is apparently now 6'11". Grew two inches since his rookie season. He's bound to be slower while his muscle mass adjusts and so on. Not worried about him long term.

this was debunked by Ingram on the media day interview

Watch on YouTube

Yeah, but KD still says he's 6'9" too... Even though nobody believes him anymore. He said it has kept people from trying to play him full time at the 4 or 5.

I think it's interesting that he's clearly trying to put on weight/muscle, but hasn't been able to in any appreciable way... Generally, if you're eating enough to put on weight, and working out in the right way, you'll build muscle... Unless you're still growing...
I mean this kid has the entire Lakers Org behind him in his body building efforts... They all want him to get bigger, but he can't...

I think Ingrams still getting taller... And there were some pics of him standing next to Kuzma and Randle, where he clearly looked like he had an inch or 2 on them. So he may not be 7' but he's getting there IMO...

I bet this off season is when he really fills out.

Also, remember Kuzma's almost 2.5 years older than Ingram and only about 10lbs heavier... He's likely done growing and is probably as filled out as he's going to get. He'll be able to add muscle, but I think if you're expecting him to look like Nance or Randle in a year or 2, you're probably going to be disappointed.

[stan francisco]

All I'm saying is that Ingram might in fact be a bit slower if he grew that much that quickly. It'll take a few months of plateauing for his muscles to catch up.

[snaquille oatmeal]

This. He's a killer shooter. Truly has ice in his veins.

Ingram is apparently now 6'11". Grew two inches since his rookie season. He's bound to be slower while his muscle mass adjusts and so on. Not worried about him long term.

this was debunked by Ingram on the media day interview

Watch on YouTube

Yeah, but KD still says he's 6'9" too... Even though nobody believes him anymore. He said it has kept people from trying to play him full time at the 4 or 5.

I think it's interesting that he's clearly trying to put on weight/muscle, but hasn't been able to in any appreciable way... Generally, if you're eating enough to put on weight, and working out in the right way, you'll build muscle... Unless you're still growing...
I mean this kid has the entire Lakers Org behind him in his body building efforts... They all want him to get bigger, but he can't...

I think Ingrams still getting taller... And there were some pics of him standing next to Kuzma and Randle, where he clearly looked like he had an inch or 2 on them. So he may not be 7' but he's getting there IMO...

I bet this off season is when he really fills out.

Also, remember Kuzma's almost 2.5 years older than Ingram and only about 10lbs heavier... He's likely done growing and is probably as filled out as he's going to get. He'll be able to add muscle, but I think if you're expecting him to look like Nance or Randle in a year or 2, you're probably going to be disappointed.

horse's mouth Vs people say

[stan francisco]

this was debunked by Ingram on the media day interview

Watch on YouTube

Yeah, but KD still says he's 6'9" too... Even though nobody believes him anymore. He said it has kept people from trying to play him full time at the 4 or 5.

I think it's interesting that he's clearly trying to put on weight/muscle, but hasn't been able to in any appreciable way... Generally, if you're eating enough to put on weight, and working out in the right way, you'll build muscle... Unless you're still growing...
I mean this kid has the entire Lakers Org behind him in his body building efforts... They all want him to get bigger, but he can't...

I think Ingrams still getting taller... And there were some pics of him standing next to Kuzma and Randle, where he clearly looked like he had an inch or 2 on them. So he may not be 7' but he's getting there IMO...

I bet this off season is when he really fills out.

Also, remember Kuzma's almost 2.5 years older than Ingram and only about 10lbs heavier... He's likely done growing and is probably as filled out as he's going to get. He'll be able to add muscle, but I think if you're expecting him to look like Nance or Randle in a year or 2, you're probably going to be disappointed.

horse's mouth Vs people say

Yeah, unless the horse is wise enough to keep that under wraps. Two more reporters on some podcast recently said he looked like he had grown considerably, guessed he was 6'11". I haven't measured him so I don't know.

Edit: I think it might've been Dunc'd On. So the people say is not just from one person. Dunno.

[gts1]

Yes this is 100% on Magic. Making ridiculous expectations of Ingram.

More on the fans for buying into that nonsense... any realistic fan does not expect Ingram to go from what he was last season to franchise level player in one 4 month offseason period just because Magic said so... Ingram is incredibly raw, poster boy for staying in college one or two more seasons but he's here and it's going to require patience for him to grow into his role. Made even harder now by the offseason changes to the lineup with such large personnel/roster changes being led by an inexperienced coaching staff