Absurdly early 2018 NBA Draft Thread

[jayu70]

No surprise, just official....

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[macd-gm]

So a team that's the #4 seed and has the consensus #1 pick who's supposed to be next dominant NBA big man gets blown out by a lesser team and the star big man scores 14 points in 38 minutes. Yet everyone is still sold on him.

Meanwhile a crappy ass team that barely made the tournament takes their team to overtime behind the only decent player on the team who had a 'bad game' with 28/7 and he's now downgraded to 'should stay in school' (which i do agree with).

There are some legit concerns about Trae. I have them too, but there are legit concerns about all of them, I'd be real concerned about Ayton after the egg AZ laid. There was talk of him stepping in and leading an NBA team first season. He couldn't even lead AZ out of the first round.

[macd-gm]

Just looked at the box score. Doesn't tell the whole story obviously but it's funny. Ayton shot worse from the field, worse from 3, went to the line fewer times than Trae despite his "teri-bad" shots.

[Spud2nique]

Have you never heard the phrase 'curry favor' or has your hate for all things "Curry" caused selective amnesia in your brain? I bet you don't even eat curry chicken.

I hate curry....I hate the player, I hate dish...I’ve never heard the term in all of my years...is it an English term, or is it English English?

Wait, wsit wait...what? You've never heard the term 'Curry Favor???? Not Curry Flavour mind you.

1. That’s racist

2. Is curry favor a southern term? We don’t use that in the west coast...I dunno maybe some do.

[Spud2nique]

What does it mean? To have a glass ankle?

[jayu70]

What does it mean? To have a glass ankle?

curry favor -
1.
ingratiate oneself with someone through obsequious (do you need the meaning of this one too?)behavior.
"a wimpish attempt to curry favor with the new bosses"

[Jamaaliver]

Deandre Ayton’s Biggest Weakness Was on Full Display Against Buffalo

The NBA’s next big unicorn prospect has struggled with defense since high school, and it became a full-blown nightmare in the biggest game of his young career. Is it enough of a concern to keep him from being drafted no. 1?

Deandre Ayton shouldn’t take all the blame for Arizona’s 89-68 first-round loss to Buffalo on Thursday. His teammates forced bad shots, didn’t space the floor, and couldn’t get the ball inside.

The concern when it comes to projecting Ayton in the NBA is what happened on defense. Buffalo didn’t fear the likely no. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft. The Bulls attacked him off the dribble and challenged him at the rim. Buffalo exploited what has been Ayton’s biggest issue since high school, the one NBA scouts and executives will have to grapple with over the next three months: The 19-year-old doesn’t defend as well as a center with his athletic ability should.

Ayton is the most physically gifted player in the country. Buffalo shouldn’t have had an answer for him. The Bulls packed the paint and kept two guys on Ayton.

The freshman superstar was essentially handcuffed on offense. The only way for him to impact the game was on defense, and he couldn’t do it. The Bulls went 15-for-24 in the paint and 15-for-30 from 3. Ayton offered little defensive resistance. He couldn’t keep his man in front of him, and he wasn’t an effective second line of defense. He blocked only one shot.

Here

[Jamaaliver]

Buffalo Head Coach, Nate Oats, spent the last few days insisting that his team wasn’t an underdog. Oats said before the game that “it wasn’t what Ayton could do to us. It was what we could to do him.” He created a game plan under the assumption that Ayton would be a defensive liability.

Red flags....

[kg01]

So a team that's the #4 seed and has the consensus #1 pick who's supposed to be next dominant NBA big man gets blown out by a lesser team and the star big man scores 14 points in 38 minutes. Yet everyone is still sold on him.

Meanwhile a crappy ass team that barely made the tournament takes their team to overtime behind the only decent player on the team who had a 'bad game' with 28/7 and he's now downgraded to 'should stay in school' (which i do agree with).

There are some legit concerns about Trae. I have them too, but there are legit concerns about all of them, I'd be real concerned about Ayton after the egg AZ laid. There was talk of him stepping in and leading an NBA team first season. He couldn't even lead AZ out of the first round.

First, I'd like to take you to the first tourney-related post I made about all these guys. The analysis on these guys, positive or negative, should not be impacted significantly by anything that happens in the tournament.

Over-reliance on tournament results is why guys like Malachi Richardson get drafted in the 1st round.

That said, OK is not a crappy team. They were #2 in the nation at one point. Even if we say Young dragged that bunch there by attaching them to a wagon attached only to his 'greatness', we cannot ignore the ensuing collapse in analyzing him as a player.

And furthermore, kg said whilst poking his pinky out, I've said all year that AZ (as a team) is hampered greatly by Miller's deficiencies as a coach. IOW, the 1st round exit should surprise no one. I had them losing in round 2.

On the players specifically, I'd rather go with a talented, physical specimen standing over 7" over a slowish, non-athletic 6' chucker.

That's the bottom line. I don't really care what the stats say, certainly not from one game.

[jayu70]

So a team that's the #4 seed and has the consensus #1 pick who's supposed to be next dominant NBA big man gets blown out by a lesser team and the star big man scores 14 points in 38 minutes. Yet everyone is still sold on him.

Meanwhile a crappy ass team that barely made the tournament takes their team to overtime behind the only decent player on the team who had a 'bad game' with 28/7 and he's now downgraded to 'should stay in school' (which i do agree with).

There are some legit concerns about Trae. I have them too, but there are legit concerns about all of them, I'd be real concerned about Ayton after the egg AZ laid. There was talk of him stepping in and leading an NBA team first season. He couldn't even lead AZ out of the first round.

First, I'd like to take you to the first tourney-related post I made about all these guys. The analysis on these guys, positive or negative, should not be impacted significantly by anything that happens in the tournament.

Over-reliance on tournament results is why guys like Malachi Richardson get drafted in the 1st round.

That said, OK is not a crappy team. They were #2 in the nation at one point. Even if we say Young dragged that bunch there by attaching them to a wagon attached only to his 'greatness', we cannot ignore the ensuing collapse in analyzing him as a player.

And furthermore, kg said whilst poking his pinky out, I've said all year that AZ (as a team) is hampered greatly by Miller's deficiencies as a coach. IOW, the 1st round exit should surprise no one. I had them losing in round 2.

On the players specifically, I'd rather go with a talented, physical specimen standing over 7" over a slowish, non-athletic 6' chucker.

That's the bottom line. I don't really care what the stats say, certainly not from one game.

7" I'd pass on taking him #1.

[macd-gm]

So a team that's the #4 seed and has the consensus #1 pick who's supposed to be next dominant NBA big man gets blown out by a lesser team and the star big man scores 14 points in 38 minutes. Yet everyone is still sold on him.

Meanwhile a crappy ass team that barely made the tournament takes their team to overtime behind the only decent player on the team who had a 'bad game' with 28/7 and he's now downgraded to 'should stay in school' (which i do agree with).

There are some legit concerns about Trae. I have them too, but there are legit concerns about all of them, I'd be real concerned about Ayton after the egg AZ laid. There was talk of him stepping in and leading an NBA team first season. He couldn't even lead AZ out of the first round.

First, I'd like to take you to the first tourney-related post I made about all these guys. The analysis on these guys, positive or negative, should not be impacted significantly by anything that happens in the tournament.

Over-reliance on tournament results is why guys like Malachi Richardson get drafted in the 1st round.

That said, OK is not a crappy team. They were #2 in the nation at one point. Even if we say Young dragged that bunch there by attaching them to a wagon attached only to his 'greatness', we cannot ignore the ensuing collapse in analyzing him as a player.

And furthermore, kg said whilst poking his pinky out, I've said all year that AZ (as a team) is hampered greatly by Miller's deficiencies as a coach. IOW, the 1st round exit should surprise no one. I had them losing in round 2.

On the players specifically, I'd rather go with a talented, physical specimen standing over 7" over a slowish, non-athletic 6' chucker.

That's the bottom line. I don't really care what the stats say, certainly not from one game.

Totally agree but there has been this rush to Trae down all season long. And it happened again with this loss. I'm only suggesting that he is being judged by a set different set of standards based mostly on his physical stature rather than his actual results and performance.

[Bob8]

I believe people are forgetting 1 important thing. While Trae will have more space and won’t be defended like in NCAA, Ayton will have to deal with much better players especially in D. Looking in the future Ayton’s problems will be more exposed. And if we take in consideration Ayton should go first and Trae 6-10, Ayton looks far more problematic.

[kg01]

So a team that's the #4 seed and has the consensus #1 pick who's supposed to be next dominant NBA big man gets blown out by a lesser team and the star big man scores 14 points in 38 minutes. Yet everyone is still sold on him.

Meanwhile a crappy ass team that barely made the tournament takes their team to overtime behind the only decent player on the team who had a 'bad game' with 28/7 and he's now downgraded to 'should stay in school' (which i do agree with).

There are some legit concerns about Trae. I have them too, but there are legit concerns about all of them, I'd be real concerned about Ayton after the egg AZ laid. There was talk of him stepping in and leading an NBA team first season. He couldn't even lead AZ out of the first round.

First, I'd like to take you to the first tourney-related post I made about all these guys. The analysis on these guys, positive or negative, should not be impacted significantly by anything that happens in the tournament.

Over-reliance on tournament results is why guys like Malachi Richardson get drafted in the 1st round.

That said, OK is not a crappy team. They were #2 in the nation at one point. Even if we say Young dragged that bunch there by attaching them to a wagon attached only to his 'greatness', we cannot ignore the ensuing collapse in analyzing him as a player.

And furthermore, kg said whilst poking his pinky out, I've said all year that AZ (as a team) is hampered greatly by Miller's deficiencies as a coach. IOW, the 1st round exit should surprise no one. I had them losing in round 2.

On the players specifically, I'd rather go with a talented, physical specimen standing over 7" over a slowish, non-athletic 6' chucker.

That's the bottom line. I don't really care what the stats say, certainly not from one game.

Totally agree but there has been this rush to Trae down all season long. And it happened again with this loss. I'm only suggesting that he is being judged by a set different set of standards based mostly on his physical stature rather than his actual results and performance.

I can see that, to a degree. At the same time though, life is rough in that league on sub-6' guys. To ignore that is as problematic as judging him more harshly because of it.

Whattup @Bob, to suggest that Ayton will see better overall players at C than Young will see at G is ... an odd assessment considering the NBA is a guard's league now.

[Jamaaliver]

...I'd rather go with a talented, physical specimen standing over 7" over a slowish, non-athletic 6' chucker.

Hasheem Thabeet over Steph Curry all day, everyday.

[kg01]

...I'd rather go with a talented, physical specimen standing over 7" over a slowish, non-athletic 6' chucker.

Hasheem Thabeet over Steph Curry all day, everyday.

I'm not playing that game with you, @jamalilalidingdang. Thabeet was never a physical specimen.

[Jamaaliver]

At the same time though, life is rough in that league on sub-6' guys. To ignore that is as problematic as judging him more harshly because of it.

Wait...is Trae Young considered sub 6-feet now?!?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not playing that game with you, @jamalilalidingdang. Thabeet was never a physical specimen.

[Bob8]

First, I'd like to take you to the first tourney-related post I made about all these guys. The analysis on these guys, positive or negative, should not be impacted significantly by anything that happens in the tournament.

Over-reliance on tournament results is why guys like Malachi Richardson get drafted in the 1st round.

That said, OK is not a crappy team. They were #2 in the nation at one point. Even if we say Young dragged that bunch there by attaching them to a wagon attached only to his 'greatness', we cannot ignore the ensuing collapse in analyzing him as a player.

And furthermore, kg said whilst poking his pinky out, I've said all year that AZ (as a team) is hampered greatly by Miller's deficiencies as a coach. IOW, the 1st round exit should surprise no one. I had them losing in round 2.

On the players specifically, I'd rather go with a talented, physical specimen standing over 7" over a slowish, non-athletic 6' chucker.

That's the bottom line. I don't really care what the stats say, certainly not from one game.

Totally agree but there has been this rush to Trae down all season long. And it happened again with this loss. I'm only suggesting that he is being judged by a set different set of standards based mostly on his physical stature rather than his actual results and performance.

I can see that, to a degree. At the same time though, life is rough in that league on sub-6' guys. To ignore that is as problematic as judging him more harshly because of it.

Whattup @Bob, to suggest that Ayton will see better overall players at C than Young will see at G is ... an odd assessment considering the NBA is a guard's league now.

Nobody expects anything from Young in D. And he can’t be guarded much better in Nba than in NCAA, especially if we know that he will play for low end team. But Ayton will have to defend much better players. And if he had problems in NCAA, what will happen in Nba? I would be worried more for Ayton, but gou for sure know more than me.

[kg01]

Totally agree but there has been this rush to Trae down all season long. And it happened again with this loss. I'm only suggesting that he is being judged by a set different set of standards based mostly on his physical stature rather than his actual results and performance.

I can see that, to a degree. At the same time though, life is rough in that league on sub-6' guys. To ignore that is as problematic as judging him more harshly because of it.

Whattup @Bob, to suggest that Ayton will see better overall players at C than Young will see at G is ... an odd assessment considering the NBA is a guard's league now.

Nobody expects anything from Young in D. And he can’t be guarded much better in Nba than in NCAA, especially if we know that he will play for low end team. But Ayton will have to defend much better players. And if he had problems in NCAA, what will happen in Nba? I would be worried more for Ayton, but gou for sure know more than me.

You must know this is an untrue statement?

[Bob8]

I can see that, to a degree. At the same time though, life is rough in that league on sub-6' guys. To ignore that is as problematic as judging him more harshly because of it.

Whattup @Bob, to suggest that Ayton will see better overall players at C than Young will see at G is ... an odd assessment considering the NBA is a guard's league now.

Nobody expects anything from Young in D. And he can’t be guarded much better in Nba than in NCAA, especially if we know that he will play for low end team. But Ayton will have to defend much better players. And if he had problems in NCAA, what will happen in Nba? I would be worried more for Ayton, but gou for sure know more than me.

You must know this is an untrue statement?

Let’s say that he ended in Phoenix/Orlando. Do you really believe someone will make that kind of pressure on Pg of the team with 25 wins?

[jayu70]

Nobody expects anything from Young in D. And he can’t be guarded much better in Nba than in NCAA, especially if we know that he will play for low end team. But Ayton will have to defend much better players. And if he had problems in NCAA, what will happen in Nba? I would be worried more for Ayton, but gou for sure know more than me.

You must know this is an untrue statement?

Let’s say that he ended in Phoenix/Orlando. Do you really believe someone would making that kind of pressure on Pg of the team with 25 wins?

HUH. Don't teams focus their attention on stopping Dennis as the 'best' player on our 20 win team?