LaMelo Ball emerging as a contender for #1 overall pick

spikeslovechild · Post #41 » by **spikeslovechild** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 6:52 pm

Lavar wins again.

kenwood3333 · Post #42 » by **kenwood3333** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 6:54 pm

I see nbadraft.net putting him at #4. Thats crazy for someone who was supposed to be all hyped up by his own father and becoming a real nba prospect.

Scuall · Post #43 » by **Scuall** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 7:41 pm

I'm no shot coach, but his mechanics/footwork look very strange on the jump shot. Probably a relic from when he was much shorter. He appears to shoot a fadeaway, and then almost cross his feet in the air. Regardless he has a good shot and what appears to be a decent vert. I have a feeling he's going to be an excellent shooter once he gets an NBA-level coach around him.

JayMKE · Post #44 » by **JayMKE** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:08 pm

Yeah, his shot looks weird.

Annoying thing about any Ball highlight you look up is that its all hosted by the Balls and they always put tons of other people in their highlights, like I watching for LaMelo and got other dudes or even other team with the ball.

zike_42 · Post #45 » by **zike_42** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:12 pm

Just to put it out there, the NBL Blitz is the league's preseason tournament. Yes he has played well, but can we see how he plays in the proper season first.

Post #46 » by **Duke4life831** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:14 pm

Dominater wrote:I guess next year isn't a good year to tank

I like next year's draft, but ya no way the year to tank. No true #1 prospect in that group as of right now. 2021 is going to be the year that all the GMs and executives are going to be excited about. Then I believe 2022 is the draft that is expected to be the first to allow guys straight out of high school.

Dominator83 · Post #47 » by **Dominator83** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:29 pm

Duke4life831 wrote:
Dominater wrote:I guess next year isn't a good year to tank

I like next year's draft, but ya no way the year to tank. No true #1 prospect in that group as of right now. 2021 is going to be the year that all the GMs and executives are going to be excited about. Then I believe 2022 is the draft that is expected to be the first to allow guys straight out of high school.

Ahh the high school kids are coming back. That just means we'll see more guys like Nassir Little and Cam Reddish go top 3, while the tames picking mid-lotto will get the better players :lol:

Post #48 » by **Duke4life831** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:57 pm

Dominater wrote:
Duke4life831 wrote:
Dominater wrote:I guess next year isn't a good year to tank

I like next year's draft, but ya no way the year to tank. No true #1 prospect in that group as of right now. 2021 is going to be the year that all the GMs and executives are going to be excited about. Then I believe 2022 is the draft that is expected to be the first to allow guys straight out of high school.

Ahh the high school kids are coming back. That just means we'll see more guys like Nassir Little and Cam Reddish go top 3, while the tames picking mid-lotto will get the better players

Ya but that one year is going to have two draft classes combined, so ideally twice the amount of high level talent. So that one year should be pretty damn good. With that said I got a little curious to see how bad the misses are from the high school rankings (where they were ranked vs picked) from the last few years.

On average over the last 10 drafts, only 4 out of the high school top 10 get drafted inside the top 10. Here is the scary one, on average 3 guys each year from the high school top 10 end up going in the 2nd round or undrafted.

Swift21 · Post #49 » by **Swift21** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:01 pm

kamaze wrote:Great for him. Gotta love a player not going through being exploited in college and still making the nba.

He wanted to play college hoops though.

madmaxmedia · Post #50 » by **madmaxmedia** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:10 pm

Does he still shoot from the middle of his chest though? That's an ugly looking shot, and doesn't seem like a recipe for long-term consistency and success.

peja_the_legend · Post #51 » by **peja_the_legend** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:20 pm

the drought of elite USA talent continues if Lamelo Ball is a #1 pick.

Post #52 » by **Clyde Frazier** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:55 pm

Really thought he was a nothing player before the growth spurt. Now he's much more versatile and seems to have reeled in the chucking from high school. Definitely intriguing at the very least.

LipSkinMatter · Post #53 » by **LipSkinMatter** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:58 pm

Where are all the people who either said he wouldn't go in the first round, wouldn't go high in the first round, or wouldn't be drafted at all?

AussieCeltic · Post #54 » by **AussieCeltic** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:32 pm

Just so you guys know, this is a preseason tournament so don't throw too much stock into it. In saying that, he looked really polished as did RJ Hampton. I remember when Terrence Ferguson and Brian Bowen came out, they both looked like a deer in the head lights. Both Melo and RJ are already better.

NY 567 · Post #55 » by **NY 567** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:33 pm

I pity the team that picks LaMelo with a top 3 pick. More hype and marketing, just like his brother.

Young gun 6 · Post #56 » by **Young gun 6** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:49 pm

Forte IV wrote:A lot of people dont want to credit the kid for his development due to the whole Ball family shtick but the kid can legit play. Who wouldnt want a 6'7ish pg that can shoot?

Watched him live with court side seats in an NBL exhibition game against Melbourne the other week.

The dude can jack up 3's but I just can't see him getting his shot off in the NBA. The release is so low and slow, especially seeing it live it's almost like a super slow mo hitch jump. Not just the technique itsself being awful, but the actual release point and slowness that it comes out of his hand is a huge worry.

Not concerning in the NBL as the guards play pretty average defense and no one has been guarding him because all the games have just been exhibition type games anyway. That won't happen in the NBA and he won't have the luxury of that time to get his 3 ball up.

Cal And Jay · Post #57 » by **Cal And Jay** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:55 pm

Dude has no prayer of making the NBA and I'm not a Ball family hater. I think Lonzo is a top 3 PG right now. However, Lamelo is well below mediocre athletically for an NBA point guard. Doesn't have crisp ballhandling and also plays absolutely zero defense. I've never seen him block a shot. Dude wouldn't make my rec league honestly

Illmatic12 · Post #58 » by **Illmatic12** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 11:06 pm

Young gun 6 wrote:
Forte IV wrote:A lot of people dont want to credit the kid for his development due to the whole Ball family shtick but the kid can legit play. Who wouldnt want a 6'7ish pg that can shoot?

Watched him live with court side seats in an NBL exhibition game against Melbourne the other week.

The dude can jack up 3's but I just can't see him getting his shot off in the NBA. The release is so low and slow, especially seeing it live it's almost like a super slow mo hitch jump. Not just the technique itsself being awful, but the actual release point and slowness that it comes out of his hand is a huge worry.

Not concerning in the NBL as the guards play pretty average defense and no one has been guarding him because all the games have just been exhibition type games anyway. That won't happen in the NBA and he won't have the luxury of that time to get his 3 ball up.

Speeding up your shot release is an easy fix. Look at highlights of Steph or any great shooter from their HS/college years they all shot the ball much slower than they do now.

LaMelo just turned 18 a month ago, he’s the age of an average HS senior. As his body physically matures his jumpshot will become stronger and more deadly. Unlike his brother he clearly has natural touch that will translate, some of the floaters he hits are ridiculous.

He’s also 6’7 so not many players will block his shot regardless. I see LaMelo Ball as a tall Trae Young which would be a tremendous prospect.

jayu70 · Post #59 » by **jayu70** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 11:24 pm

Read on Twitter

grindtime22 · Post #60 » by **grindtime22** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 11:26 pm

Pointgod wrote:
capwolf wrote:
Pointgod wrote:Good for him. I thought Lavar completely ruined his development but it seems that his talent is showing through.

Ruined? He's the potential #1 pick at 18, just three years removed from his brother being the #2 pick, and the father has been both of their trainers since birth.
There's no way you can downplay Lavar Ball's importance in their basketball success.

Lavar took him out of school and put him in a dog **** Lithuanian league where Lamelo proceeded to chuck up shots and show poor decision making. I don’t think the NCAA route is the way to go but Lavar could have Lamelo in a better position.

I'm sure his high school competition would have been much tougher than that dog **** league. I'm sure his shot selection would have been much better at Chino Hills....... oh wait.

You can argue that Lavar has messed up quite a bit of stuff. The LiAngelo UCLA situation was handled very poorly. The BBB has been pretty bad. Talk, talk, talk. With that said, basketball development is a really tough argument at this point. Even the middle one ended up with a UCLA scholarship. That was probably because of his brothers, but he would have ended up at some kind of division 1 school regardless. The kid could hoop, he just isn't an NBA level player and he doesn't have an NBA game. Here we are with the youngest as a possible top of the draft pick after having another kid go #2. It's just a coincidence?