Absurdly early 2018 NBA Draft Thread

Derento · Post #441 » by **Derento** » Fri Dec 8, 2017 9:36 pm

Luka Doncic scoring ability has exploded this year don't know how it translate but he's looks like a man among boys out there as an 18 year old. Don't know how he will find another gear other than becoming a better shooter & better footwork in the post.

Derento · Post #442 » by **Derento** » Fri Dec 8, 2017 9:40 pm

The only thing stopping him from being the consensus number 1 pick is his slow first step.
If he had first step like Booker/Harden he would be unstoppable. Atlanta has a really good strength & conditioning team. Any player here improve their first step.

jayu70 · Post #443 » by **jayu70** » Fri Dec 8, 2017 11:25 pm

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MaceCase · Post #444 » by **MaceCase** » Sat Dec 9, 2017 6:03 am

jayu70 wrote:

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I don't think I've ever seen that abbreviation for what I assume is Denver. And uhhhhh, who is going to break it to the Lakers that they don't have a pick this year?

atlantabbq99 · Post #445 » by **atlantabbq99** » Sat Dec 9, 2017 10:00 am

Derento wrote:The only thing stopping him from being the consensus number 1 pick is his slow first step.
If he had first step like Booker/Harden he would be unstoppable. Atlanta has a really good strength & conditioning team. Any player here improve their first step.

The one thing thing stopping him from not being #1 is that he is not 7 feet tall. It would be hard to pick Luka over some of the elite 7 footers in college right now.

Maybe if Luka had an MJ 40 vert or insane Kevin Durant length he would be consensus number 1

Post #446 » by **ATL Boy** » Sat Dec 9, 2017 3:44 pm

Derento wrote:Luka Doncic scoring ability has exploded this year don't know how it translate but he's looks like a man among boys out there as an 18 year old. Don't know how he will find another gear other than becoming a better shooter & better footwork in the post.

He does look like a man among boys, which is scary to think about considering the fact that he's playing against grown men and is no more than a boy himself.

I think it's sometimes easy for us to forget that Doncic is doing this against the best basketball players in the world, outside the NBA. The level of competition he's going against surpasses that of any of the other elite prospects playing in the NCAA.

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Spud2nique · Post #447 » by **Spud2nique** » Sat Dec 9, 2017 3:57 pm

Ya there's something about Luka that screams SPECIAL to me....To me, he's a poor man's Drazen Petro or at least a new age Drazen. I hate to pass on Bagley and Ayton as well but I don't want the chris Paul situation again...we need to make the RIGHT pick this time. It could decide our fate for the next 8-12 years as a franchise. Right now I think if we get a top 3 pick we are set. Anything outside of that, I'm nervous.

tbhawksfan1 · Post #448 » by **tbhawksfan1** » Sat Dec 9, 2017 5:11 pm

With the four likely picks and tradable players, I want a top 3 and a top 15 plus our late firsts. It's quite doable when you consider Dedmon and Beli should bring firsts.

Doncic / Carter (C) with the first two picks. Doncic and Horford heavy is a great start to a Hawks run in the draft

jayu70 · Post #449 » by **jayu70** » Sat Dec 9, 2017 8:18 pm

This kid playing amongst grown men in Europe...

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CP War Hawks · Post #450 » by **CP War Hawks** » Sat Dec 9, 2017 9:40 pm

I want to see Doncic against NBA tier offenses and defenses. Baze has to go immediately if he is drafted here. Dennis and Luka will operate 90% of the ball handling duties.

The team won't be able to fully rebuild until that annual 30 million of Baze and Plumlee are off the cap.

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Post #451 » by **Jamaaliver** » Sun Dec 10, 2017 2:29 pm

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Post #452 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:07 pm

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Luka Doncic had himself a game. The potential top pick in the upcoming draft dropped a career-high 33 points. In addition to that, Doncic also had six rebounds, four assists and just one turnover.\

What might have been more impressive than his play was his demeanor after the game. Doncic helped Real Madrid claw back and force overtime, but they still ultimately fell. Here’s what the 18-year-old told Eurohoops after the game:

“I don’t care for my career high because we lost. I don’t feel great. I didn’t do enough, so I really don’t care if I scored 33 points and we didn’t get a win.”

Love it. I love to hear accountability in my players. No excuses. Wish we had a Horford/MIllsape type veteran to plug him in next to.

Either way, I am slowly coming around.

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Post #453 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:18 pm

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Post #454 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:26 pm

Over the weekend, Arizona and Alabama faced off.

Collin Sexton dropped 30 points and had 15 FTs while shooting 50% from three in a loss.

Ayton dropped 29 points and had 18 rebounds in a close win.

Sexton is making me reconsider him as a top 5 selection. His defense, scoring and three point shooting is impressive.

(A combo of Sexton and Doncic seems like it could be a dominant backcourt in 5 years.)

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Post #455 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:29 pm

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— Mikal Bridges’ stock continues to rise after a dominant performance against Gonzaga this week. Bridges was the difference-maker for the Wildcats, putting up 28 points, six rebounds and two blocks against the Bulldogs while showing his two-way potential. He’s one of the most improved players in the country this season, as he’s been better attacking with the ball in his hands.

He’s also increased his 3-point and field-goal percentages, while increasing his usage, showing even more confidence offensively — which makes him a well-rounded prospect for this year’s draft. What makes Bridges so attractive is he’s already got role-player potential with plenty of room for growth. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t a top-10 pick this year.

Post #456 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue Dec 12, 2017 2:27 pm

I am hearing massive concerns regarding Ayton's defense.

The comparison is KAT. Transcendent offensive skills offset by extremely poor defense.

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macd-gm · Post #457 » by **macd-gm** » Tue Dec 12, 2017 2:31 pm

I don't know who but if we have a top 3 pick it just has to be a wing. Or maybe a PG. How many transcendent bigs from the last 5 years are we still waiting to make a playoff appearance?

Post #458 » by **ATL Boy** » Tue Dec 12, 2017 4:45 pm

It's been Doncic vs. Ayton all along for me at the top. If we have the 3rd pick with the pool of Ayton, Luka, Bagley then Schlenk has the easiest decision to make out of all the teams in the draft of just taking whichever one of the three is left over.

However, if we land pick number 1 then it still comes down to Luka vs. Deandre imo. If the draft was happening right now it would be Doncic for me (unless he doesn't commit to coming over to the NBA next year, then that just adds an entirely different layer). I love Ayton's athleticism and measurables but how can we ignore Doncic's production against professionals in the Euro League and against actual NBA players in Euro Basket when he served as the 18-year-old Robin to Dragic's Batman en route to a Slovenia title?

Combine that with the fact that you seemingly have to have a star wing to succeed in today's NBA along with Luka's intangibles and I don't think Schlenk needs to overthink it if we have the privilege of taking him at the summit.

Spud2nique · Post #459 » by **Spud2nique** » Wed Dec 13, 2017 4:12 pm

As of today for me..

1. Luka
2. Ayton
3. Bagley
4. Mikal Bridges (This dude is impressing me more and more....honestly wouldn't be surprised if he made a climb into the top 5...book it..this kid is special and I'm never ever wrong on players...actually I am but watching this kid..easy transition into the NBA...).

macd-gm · Post #460 » by **macd-gm** » Wed Dec 13, 2017 4:19 pm

Spud2nique wrote:As of today for me..

1. Luka
2. Ayton
3. Bagley
4. Mikal Bridges (This dude is impressing me more and more....honestly wouldn't be surprised if he made a climb into the top 5...book it..this kid is special and I'm never ever wrong on players...actually I am but watching this kid..easy transition into the NBA...).

What are the chances that Bridges is better than Luka in 5 years?

Are you happy with the draft?