Around the NBA, 2020/21 Edition

[pepe1991]

Curry is such a joy to watch

[cedric76]

Lavine is so over rated, empty stats player, Chicago plays so much better when he is not there, look how they killed Boston

[pepe1991]

Lavine is so over rated, empty stats player, Chicago plays so much better when he is not there, look how they killed Boston

It's not that Lavine is bad, it's that they are so desparate to find playmaker that would put leash on Lavine and his boneheaded pick&rolls directionless actions.
Lonzo, Brogdon type PG would make them very good, but until that, they have one of worst guard rotations in nba.

[basketballRob]

Boston needed Robert Williams in that game. Tristan Thompson can't play center.

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[pepe1991]

year and half into rookie contract and Zion alraedy aiming for exit

[tiderulz]

year and half into rookie contract and Zion alraedy aiming for exit

well, he has 5-6 more years in New Orleans.

[pepe1991]

year and half into rookie contract and Zion alraedy aiming for exit

well, he has 5-6 more years in New Orleans.

Porzingis pushed his path out in 3

[tiderulz]

year and half into rookie contract and Zion alraedy aiming for exit

well, he has 5-6 more years in New Orleans.

Porzingis pushed his path out in 3

it takes a team calling the bluff. No one has turned down a max extension yet. with Zion's weight and injury risk, i cant see him turning down a max extension. with KP's injury history, i could see NY willing to let him go. I personally dont believe he can stay healthy, which he already shows in Dallas and Dallas fans worrying about Luka leaving because of the money invested in KP and he cant play

[pepe1991]

well, he has 5-6 more years in New Orleans.

Porzingis pushed his path out in 3

it takes a team calling the bluff. No one has turned down a max extension yet. with Zion's weight and injury risk, i cant see him turning down a max extension. with KP's injury history, i could see NY willing to let him go. I personally dont believe he can stay healthy, which he already shows in Dallas and Dallas fans worrying about Luka leaving because of the money invested in KP and he cant play

Players says he wants to leave. You can punish yourself and him by not playing him ( you gain nothing ) or trade him.
Pretty much how AD trade went.

It's very hard to keep player that wants to leave. Guy like Zion will get payed regardless where he goes, ofc it's in his best interest to sign max first, but he will can sign max in 2 and half years- than ask for trade.

[tiderulz]

Porzingis pushed his path out in 3

it takes a team calling the bluff. No one has turned down a max extension yet. with Zion's weight and injury risk, i cant see him turning down a max extension. with KP's injury history, i could see NY willing to let him go. I personally dont believe he can stay healthy, which he already shows in Dallas and Dallas fans worrying about Luka leaving because of the money invested in KP and he cant play

Players says he wants to leave. You can punish yourself and him by not playing him ( you gain nothing ) or trade him.
Pretty much how AD trade went.

It's very hard to keep player that wants to leave. Guy like Zion will get payed regardless where he goes, ofc it's in his best interest to sign max first, but he will can sign max in 2 and half years- than ask for trade.

if i own a team, i call his bluff. no one owns an NBA team to make money, they are toys of the rich. You no longer need to be in a big market to be known, Dwight showed that easily. But you need to build a contender if you have a top player, or at least make smart personnel decision.

[MagicFan101]

Am I the only person who is NOT a believer in Zion?

I just can’t see him holding up and avoiding that long term injury. Also, as people have talked about before, he doesn’t seem to take care of his body the way other top athletes do which shows a lack of commitment to the finer details of the profession. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t work hard but being a pro means working hard in all areas.

If he doesn’t want to be there and I’m the owner, I would start looking for the kings random of all kings ransoms and cash in now while I still can.

[pepe1991]

Am I the only person who is NOT a believer in Zion?

I just can’t see him holding up and avoiding that long term injury. Also, as people have talked about before, he doesn’t seem to take care of his body the way other top athletes due which shows a lack of commitment to the finer details of the profession. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t work hard but being a pro means working hard in all areas.

If he doesn’t want to be there and I’m the owner, I would start looking for the kinds random of all kings ransoms and cash in now while I still can.

You are not, i view him as some modern day Carmelo, lot of hype, never will be winning type player.

[ChosenSavior]

Am I the only person who is NOT a believer in Zion?

I just can’t see him holding up and avoiding that long term injury. Also, as people have talked about before, he doesn’t seem to take care of his body the way other top athletes due which shows a lack of commitment to the finer details of the profession. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t work hard but being a pro means working hard in all areas.

If he doesn’t want to be there and I’m the owner, I would start looking for the kinds random of all kings ransoms and cash in now while I still can.

You are not, i view him as some modern day Carmelo, lot of hype, never will be winning type player.

I feel the exact same way about him.

[MagicFan101]

Am I the only person who is NOT a believer in Zion?

I just can’t see him holding up and avoiding that long term injury. Also, as people have talked about before, he doesn’t seem to take care of his body the way other top athletes due which shows a lack of commitment to the finer details of the profession. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t work hard but being a pro means working hard in all areas.

If he doesn’t want to be there and I’m the owner, I would start looking for the kinds random of all kings ransoms and cash in now while I still can.

You are not, i view him as some modern day Carmelo, lot of hype, never will be winning type player.

I feel the exact same way about him.

I remember thinking I liked both Ja Morant and RJ Barrett over Zion. But to be honest I really didn’t see anyone that year as what I have started calling a FRANCHISE SUPER STAR that you build your Org around for a decade plus.

Now that they have a decent coach and a good system in place, RJ (+ Randle) and the Knicks are playing winning basketball even without a legit super star.

Zion has Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe. I would argue he is an overall better supporting cast than RJ yet can’t reach .500.

True it’s the West vs. East and many other factors but you do have to wonder how the story will play out.

[PrimeThyme]

You are not, i view him as some modern day Carmelo, lot of hype, never will be winning type player.

See, Zion is much more Barkley than Carmelo to me. The numbers he's posting this year including his advanced stats (6.5 Obpm which is higher than any season in Melo's career) show he's already making a big impact on the game. I think he's going to be a dominant force similar to the way Barkely was and I see him winning at least one MVP and becoming a perennial top 10 player in the league for the foreseeable future.

Stan and Griffin deserve an incredible amount of blame for the Pelicans struggles. I never understood the hire in the first place, quite honestly. Stan is beloved by our fanbase, but his track record since leaving is pretty cringeworthy.

They've lost so many close games and Stan going to the media after every loss and blaming players isn't sitting well. Once the right staff is in place Zion is going to win a lot of games in this league. He's such an unstoppable force going to the basket and is a far more cerebral offensive player than Melo ever was.

[pepe1991]

You are not, i view him as some modern day Carmelo, lot of hype, never will be winning type player.

See, Zion is much more Barkley than Carmelo to me. The numbers he's posting this year including his advanced stats (6.5 Obpm which is higher than any season in Melo's career) show he's already making a big impact on the game. I think he's going to be a dominant force similar to the way Barkely was and I see him winning at least one MVP and becoming a perennial top 10 player in the league for the foreseeable future.

Stan and Griffin deserve an incredible amount of blame for the Pelicans struggles. I never understood the hire in the first place, quite honestly. Stan is beloved by our fanbase, but his track record since leaving is pretty cringeworthy.

They've lost so many close games and Stan going to the media after every loss and blaming players isn't sitting well. Once the right staff is in place Zion is going to win a lot of games in this league. He's such an unstoppable force going to the basket and is a far more cerebral offensive player than Melo ever was.

I respecfully disagree.
OBPM comes more often than not, from sheer usage rate. There was point of time when Westbrook had one of highest single season BPMs in history.

Williamson is effective... at least at first sight. Because 96% of all his shots are inside 10 feet, including 72% of all shots being layup/dunk spots.

Esencially, you are left with 6'6 -280 pounds mini-center that can't play center because he can't really rebound and can't really defend in traffic. His pick&roll coverage is some of most painful things you can watch, even slowest guards menage to catch him out of balance and score easly. So you have to play "real" center next to him , to keep defense in order. But if you play real center, your floor spacing is terrible because Zion has jumpshot .

I can't stress strong enough how impossible it is to play modern basketball with PF who takes 4% of shots outside 10 feet. Not even make, but TAKES 4% of shots. For a season guy is 0-0 from mid range 9-30 for 3. And trust me, that 9-30 sounds way better than it is. Few nights ago i watched some Pelicans game where his 3 ball attemp almost broke glass.

As for his impact, he has -0,3 net rating. Kevin O'connor from Ringer called his defense " sickening to watch and lazy".

Zion would have been future top 10 player if he is 7 foot tall. But because he is not equipped to play defense, challenge shots, is terrible rebounder , very lazy on defense, and his only "skill" isn't even skill but born athletic gift, that he keeps on wasting being fat and out of shape all the time, 5,6 years down the line i expect Blake- Griffin like career. Both knees ruined and him just existing on papers in nba, spending more time in recovery than playing.

Carmelo was way more skilled. Zion is just super athletic despite being fat. There is no really much talent in scoring inside 10 feet... F''' it, it finally clicked with me . He is pretty much 6'6 Andre Drummond who also at age of 22 was prestented as "future of nba" , ofc not as hyped, but still guy was 22 and allstar. 16 ppg, 15 rpg. Over times league simply figured there is no much value of center who can't shoot pass 2 feet and also can't defend at elite level.

[Bergmaniac]

That's why Zion needs to play with a centre who can space the floor and also protect the rim. Pairing him with Adams was a really dumb idea. Adams isn't even a good defender anymore and he's killing their spacing.

[pepe1991]

You are not, i view him as some modern day Carmelo, lot of hype, never will be winning type player.

I feel the exact same way about him.

I remember thinking I liked both Ja Morant and RJ Barrett over Zion. But to be honest I really didn’t see anyone that year as what I have started calling a FRANCHISE SUPER STAR that you build your Org around for a decade plus.

Now that they have a decent coach and a good system in place, RJ (+ Randle) and the Knicks are playing winning basketball even without a legit super star.

Zion has Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe. I would argue he is an overall better supporting cast than RJ yet can’t reach .500.

True it’s the West vs. East and many other factors but you do have to wonder how the story will play out.

Watch on YouTube

you can skip to 2:00 mark where it's revield that opponents shoot 71% at a rim when Zion is guarding paint, witch crumbles their defenive rating for addtional -12 ,compared to when Adams and Hayes are on the floor . Esencially making it impossible for Pelicans to play Zion without center. He is actually one of worst rim protecting bigs in last couple of years

In other words, Zion is way worst defender than Melo ever was. Zion literally crumbles his defensive scheme because he is too late on close outs, he does not protect the rim and his defensive rebounds percentage is same as Zach Lavine and his

[pepe1991]

That's why Zion needs to play with a centre who can space the floor and also protect the rim. Pairing him with Adams was a really dumb idea. Adams isn't even a good defender anymore and he's killing their spacing.

So you can pair him with amazing total of 2 nba players. Turner and Brook Lopez, and one is on contender and tends to be 32 years old and other is nowhere near as impressive shooter, making, for career , less than 1 three a game

Also how to overcome fact he can't shoot but eats 25% usage rate? Need to pair him with superstar guard ? Well if you have superstar guard and superstar center, you really don't need Zion, don't you?

[Knightro]

Some flaming hot takes in this thread.

Zion is averaging 27 PPG on a 65% TS%. Like I don't care how bad he is defensively, if a guy is that good and that efficient offensively you just gotta figure the rest of it out.