ATL - 20-21 Season Begins

[Bucksfan28]

Lámelo has always been the most talented Ball brother, if it weren’t for his crazy dad he probably is the #1 pick and a lot further on in his development. I enjoy the flair he plays with and am jealous of his ballhandling, im too use to Bucks players bouncing it off their own shoe.

He is already playing at a controlled pace and looks to have great instincts, especially as a PnR ball handler. Idk how much more along in their development you could expect a 19 y/o rookie to be.

i don’t know but I can’t imagine being pulled out of high school, playing in your dad’s bizzaro league, playing overseas on small time teams was good for his development. Kid has barely been coached.

Its just speculation to assume a more traditional route, i.e. a few months with a D1 program, wouldve made a drastic difference. I also wouldnt dismiss the benefit from playing with and against grown professionals - including former D1 players - even if in a "small time" international league. If he looked lost right now then maybe we could indict his career path so far but evidence suggests otherwise (albeit in a very small preseason sample size).

[machu46]

Holy **** LaMelo's shot form is horrendous. It starts from like his hips and his elbows are wild. I've heard people talk about it and read the scouting reports and what not, but I've really never seen it until the preseason.

His passing is incredible, though.

This reminds me: Givony/Schmitz/Pelton did player attribute ratings for all the draft prospects and they think LaMelo is roughly as good a shooter right now as Tyrell Terry (I think LaMelo was a 74 vs. a 76 for Terry and they project LaMelo's potential as being a very good shooter when it's all said and done. I do think he has natural shooting touch but there's obviously a ton of stuff to clean up in his mechanics.

Yeah, his play-making at that size is pretty special, but just like his brother, that shot is absolutely atrocious and puts a serious cap on his potential.

Some key differences between the two though:

1. Lonzo was much much further along defensively than LaMelo. There was some question of whether or not Lonzo could keep up with other PGs, but if he could, he was bound to be a good defender. LaMelo has a knack for jumping passing lanes and has the athleticism to be a solid defender, but he's incredibly undisciplined right now.

2. LaMelo is just a much much better lead guard than Lonzo. Lonzo has never really had the ability to break a defense down outside of transition or attacking closeouts. LaMelo is capable of being the main creator for his team from Day 1.

3. Both shooting forms are very bad, but at least with LaMelo, he's physically capable of shooting off the dribble. Lonzo's inability to even attempt shots outside of catch-and-shoot and a stepback going to his left, along with his relative issues breaking a defense down, limited his offensive upside a lot more than LaMelo IMO.

I still tend to think the most likely outcome with LaMelo is that he puts up numbers while not really being a positive contributor, but he has star potential if his game develops the right way that Lonzo never had IMO.

[machu46]

Rockets leaking that they're looking beyond Harden's preferred destinations to make a move. Maybe Denver steps in with MPJ ++?

I think this is all one big chess match to see who blinks between the Rockets and 76ers.

Yeah, I think the Woj piece in particular was pretty clearly trying to get more out of the actual suitors.

I do think there are some teams not on Harden's list that are ripe for a trade though. Maybe not a trade for Harden, but teams like Denver, Dallas, Miami, and Portland should all be active IMO.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

did anybody watch the hawks last night? hilariously bad lets just leave it at that. that teams is like playing soft butter

[Matches Malone]

did anybody watch the hawks last night? hilariously bad lets just leave it at that. that teams is like playing soft butter

They're going to need to score 130 a night just to win. Their defense has been atrocious.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

did anybody watch the hawks last night? hilariously bad lets just leave it at that. that teams is like playing soft butter

They're going to need to score 130 a night just to win. Their defense has been atrocious.

just look at the lineup. it was already atrocious and then gallinari and bogdan?? no idea what theyre thinking. capela is supposed to clean the whole thing up on his own i guess

[ABucksFan]

did anybody watch the hawks last night? hilariously bad lets just leave it at that. that teams is like playing soft butter

They're going to need to score 130 a night just to win. Their defense has been atrocious.

just look at the lineup. it was already atrocious and then gallinari and bogdan?? no idea what theyre thinking. capela is supposed to clean the whole thing up on his own i guess

I didn't understand ATL off-season at all. Like they literally brought in guys who are going to stunt the growth of ALL that talent. Reddish, Hunter, Huerter....then you bring in Bog and Danillo? Like WTH? I guess they're all in on playoffs, but they had a lot of talent that I now think is going to be stunted.

[Ron Swanson]

The NBA opening a tampering "investigation" nearly 18 months after the Clippers tampered with Kawhi is **** comical. What a pathetic attempt to save face after making Milwaukee the scapegoat.

[MickeyDavis]

Read on Twitter

[LuessiT]

They're going to need to score 130 a night just to win. Their defense has been atrocious.

just look at the lineup. it was already atrocious and then gallinari and bogdan?? no idea what theyre thinking. capela is supposed to clean the whole thing up on his own i guess

I didn't understand ATL off-season at all. Like they literally brought in guys who are going to stunt the growth of ALL that talent. Reddish, Hunter, Huerter....then you bring in Bog and Danillo? Like WTH? I guess they're all in on playoffs, but they had a lot of talent that I now think is going to be stunted.

Also I had them as a dark horse suitor for Gobert, either via trade or FA. He's perfect for Trae. Their FA hopes are gone.

[emunney]

did anybody watch the hawks last night? hilariously bad lets just leave it at that. that teams is like playing soft butter

They're going to need to score 130 a night just to win. Their defense has been atrocious.

just look at the lineup. it was already atrocious and then gallinari and bogdan?? no idea what theyre thinking. capela is supposed to clean the whole thing up on his own i guess

Nobody is going to be a part of more blowouts than them. They're going to have nights where they shoot the other team out of the building, and they're going to have nights where they can't make and they give up 1000 dunks.

[Licensed to Il]

On one hand, I enjoy Lamello, because basketball should be fun and no one should want a league where everyone has the same skills and style. So a lanky, flashy passing kid is fun.

On the other hand, its inconceivable that someone could have a dad that played college ball, has played competitively his whole life and spent thousands of hours in a gym, and still have such terrible shooting form.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

On one hand, I enjoy Lamello, because basketball should be fun and no one should want a league where everyone has the same skills and style. So a lanky, flashy passing kid is fun.

On the other hand, its inconceivable that someone could have a dad that played college ball, has played competitively his whole life and spent thousands of hours in a gym, and still have such terrible shooting form.

i think its indicative of playing a massive amount of ball at a really young age like before you can shoot 3's without heaving from your ankles..... and then having your dad coach you all the way up without making small adjustments all along the way. they shoot like my youngest sisters boys who until recently were all still playing on the 8 ft hoop. compared to other kids who just werent playing as much they were probably considered lights out at that age so lavar was like hands off let the talent speak.

[ABucksFan]

On one hand, I enjoy Lamello, because basketball should be fun and no one should want a league where everyone has the same skills and style. So a lanky, flashy passing kid is fun.

On the other hand, its inconceivable that someone could have a dad that played college ball, has played competitively his whole life and spent thousands of hours in a gym, and still have such terrible shooting form.

Lol. Lamelo gets literally no lift on his shot. He's lucky he's tall lol. With that said, I agree I like watching him play and think he's going to be better than people think.

[machu46]

On one hand, I enjoy Lamello, because basketball should be fun and no one should want a league where everyone has the same skills and style. So a lanky, flashy passing kid is fun.

On the other hand, its inconceivable that someone could have a dad that played college ball, has played competitively his whole life and spent thousands of hours in a gym, and still have such terrible shooting form.

Lol. Lamelo gets literally no lift on his shot. He's lucky he's tall lol. With that said, I agree I like watching him play and think he's going to be better than people think.

This is actually an adjustment he's made to clean up his mechanics lol. He had a tendency to twist his body an insane amount on his shots so they've been trying to get him to use more of a set shot to help him keep his legs on a more natural curve and it boosted his 3 point % from like 20% to the 35-40% range after he made the change in Australia.

[Licensed to Il]

The NBA opening a tampering "investigation" nearly 18 months after the Clippers tampered with Kawhi is **** comical. What a pathetic attempt to save face after making Milwaukee the scapegoat.

LOL the league is so grateful Kawai and P George made the Clips a top team. Any punishment will be softer than baby skin cream.

[paulpressey25]

did anybody watch the hawks last night? hilariously bad lets just leave it at that. that teams is like playing soft butter

Still think Bogdan would have been a great fit here. But yes, that team has zero identity. Every contender needs a defensive anchor. Hawks have none.

[Sigra]

hawks can now make trades for better fit. for example bogdanovic for defender DDV

[Turk Nowitzki]

did anybody watch the hawks last night? hilariously bad lets just leave it at that. that teams is like playing soft butter

Still think Bogdan would have been a great fit here. But yes, that team has zero identity. Every contender needs a defensive anchor. Hawks have none.

He would've been literally the perfect fit for us. That's probably what annoys me the most.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

did anybody watch the hawks last night? hilariously bad lets just leave it at that. that teams is like playing soft butter

Still think Bogdan would have been a great fit here. But yes, that team has zero identity. Every contender needs a defensive anchor. Hawks have none.

on the bright side if ddv shoots a similar 3PT% this year as him then ddv will be the ultimate fit, not to mention keeping him allowed us to fill out the roster