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audioaxes
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 Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 11:18 am Post subject: |
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Pelicans are not going anywhere unless BI and Zion transform into elite defenders. Lonzo should continue improve but I dont see him transforming beyond a 3 and D point guard mold. Right now they are an average at best team who can get hot every once and a while and beat a contender
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Mike@LG
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| Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:44 am Post subject: |
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| audioaxes wrote: | | Pelicans are not going anywhere unless BI and Zion transform into elite defenders. Lonzo should continue improve but I dont see him transforming beyond a 3 and D point guard mold. Right now they are an average at best team who can get hot every once and a while and beat a contender |
Lonzo is already a borderline elite guard defender.
It's the total lack of interior presence defensively that's the big issue. Zion is the guy that isn't playing defense at all.
It's a team of guys looking for contract extensions, not team wins.
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CandyCanes
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| Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Mike@LG wrote: | | audioaxes wrote: | | Pelicans are not going anywhere unless BI and Zion transform into elite defenders. Lonzo should continue improve but I dont see him transforming beyond a 3 and D point guard mold. Right now they are an average at best team who can get hot every once and a while and beat a contender |
Lonzo is already a borderline elite guard defender.
It's the total lack of interior presence defensively that's the big issue. Zion is the guy that isn't playing defense at all.
It's a team of guys looking for contract extensions, not team wins. |
What about Steven Adams, longtime anchor of the Westbrook led Thunder?
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MJST
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audioaxes
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| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:17 am Post subject: |
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| Mike@LG wrote: | | audioaxes wrote: | | Pelicans are not going anywhere unless BI and Zion transform into elite defenders. Lonzo should continue improve but I dont see him transforming beyond a 3 and D point guard mold. Right now they are an average at best team who can get hot every once and a while and beat a contender |
Lonzo is already a borderline elite guard defender.
It's the total lack of interior presence defensively that's the big issue. Zion is the guy that isn't playing defense at all.
It's a team of guys looking for contract extensions, not team wins. |
yes I agree he is already a very good defender. I just dont see him becoming that CP3 type of point guard they really need to unlock Zion and BI from being just 2 scorers who take turns dominating the ball.
Plus they did themselves no favors by turning the Lakers #4 pick into two players who can barely crack the rotation (I dont get why I never see anyone give them flak on this). I wonder if they could have given Memphis a godfather offer to move up and draft Ja Morant with Zion... that would have been sick.
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Snipes
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 8:05 am Post subject: |
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| wolfpaclaker wrote: | I do find it weird that the Pels for all their talent level, I mean they got our best assets and then added Zion who is now an all-star already, they are barely in playoff position, and I am not sure they even make the playoffs if they began today.
Is it coaching, because they changed coaches.
Ball is playing better.
Zion is an all-star.
Ingram did not make the all-star team, but did have a solid season so far.
Adams is a heck of a physical player.
Does Griffin is viewed as a great executive ..... but he did trade Holiday who was ADs best teammate during the playoff years they made the playoffs.
Nice to see Ball do better this season. I do not think he should get the max, but for sure he will get in the 60M-4 years range. |
He will get the max though...in an age where guards no longer play D it’s an easy decision. Almost elite 3pt shooting..elite playmaking and elite D. Max. Kuzma got 40mill ffs. |
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Mike@LG
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 10:13 am Post subject: |
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| audioaxes wrote: | | Mike@LG wrote: | | audioaxes wrote: | | Pelicans are not going anywhere unless BI and Zion transform into elite defenders. Lonzo should continue improve but I dont see him transforming beyond a 3 and D point guard mold. Right now they are an average at best team who can get hot every once and a while and beat a contender |
Lonzo is already a borderline elite guard defender.
It's the total lack of interior presence defensively that's the big issue. Zion is the guy that isn't playing defense at all.
It's a team of guys looking for contract extensions, not team wins. |
yes I agree he is already a very good defender. I just dont see him becoming that CP3 type of point guard they really need to unlock Zion and BI from being just 2 scorers who take turns dominating the ball.
Plus they did themselves no favors by turning the Lakers #4 pick into two players who can barely crack the rotation (I dont get why I never see anyone give them flak on this). I wonder if they could have given Memphis a godfather offer to move up and draft Ja Morant with Zion... that would have been sick. |
He's not a "point guard" and never was and LAL should have known that prior to the draft.
Why should the Pels give flack when they've got so many players that actually earn PT but not really have standout guys over Zion, BI, Adams, and Lonzo? Having a high pick doesn't guarantee there's great talent through several picks at the top.
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Mike@LG
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 10:14 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | He will get the max though... |
Highly doubt it. Maybe 2/3rds of it.
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noahp45
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unleasHell
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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He'd be the perfect Clipper...!
I could be slightly off, but I have always felt the Lonzo's biggest problem is his commitment to the game!
Once he was the #2 pick in the NBA, he took his foot off the gas and was ready to coast his way through life. A life that was pushed upon him by an overbearing father.
He was quick to believe he had made it and did not put in the hard work required to get better, like THT, Kuz and Ingram have all done. He's a wannabe rap star, a father, married, single, whatever - ALL DISTRACTIONS!
That's the main reason his numbers have SLIGHTLY improved during his exile in New Orleans, but get him back in LA, in the limelight of the big city, on say the Clippers, and he will quickly regress to the undedicated choker that lies just below the surface.
No way, I ever want him back on the Lakers and I would NOT trade THT straight up for him...!
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Mike@LG
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| Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:05 am Post subject: |
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^The Clippers need him, but more than that.
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MJST
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KindCrippler2000
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| Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 9:16 am Post subject: |
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| wolfpaclaker wrote: | I do find it weird that the Pels for all their talent level, I mean they got our best assets and then added Zion who is now an all-star already, they are barely in playoff position, and I am not sure they even make the playoffs if they began today.
Is it coaching, because they changed coaches.
Ball is playing better.
Zion is an all-star.
Ingram did not make the all-star team, but did have a solid season so far.
Adams is a heck of a physical player.
Does Griffin is viewed as a great executive ..... but he did trade Holiday who was ADs best teammate during the playoff years they made the playoffs.
Nice to see Ball do better this season. I do not think he should get the max, but for sure he will get in the 60M-4 years range. |
They are playing on a historic level offensively according to the metrics, but like most young teams, the defense is the reason they are losing ballgames. I believe they've lost 10 games when they were up double digits in the 4th (ranked most in the league), including that colossal choke job against the Blazers last week. Like all young teams, they have no consistency on that end.
At this point, they are essentially playing like the former T-wolves with Towns, Wiggins, Lavine, Rubio. Talented as hell but abysmal on defense. I can see them nabbing the 8th seed if they put it together defensively. They seem to have stronger defensive potential than they let on. Adams and Zion are ridiculous to deal with in the paint. Bledsoe, Ball and Hart are above average defenders. BI is below average and has to work on his balance, but he'll get there. Hayes and NAW have good defensive potential but are too young right now.
My guess is they'll finish around .500 but miss the playoffs this season. They'll be solid after Griffin deals Bledsoe and adds an athletic wing next to BI (Kelly Oubre, Josh Jackson, etc). Their biggest weakness right now is the length and size to bother teams defensively.
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Snipes
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| Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:46 am Post subject: |
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| First game back from injury without Zion/BI and he has a huge game. Seven triples. |
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MJST
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KindCrippler2000
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| Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:44 am Post subject: |
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Saw most of the Rockets-Pels game, and he essentially transformed an injury-ridden, g-league Pels team into that summer league squad we saw in 2017. At his best, he has a transformative effect on the game that very few players are capable of. Van Gundy basically had to put faster dudes around him so they could keep up with his passes. Granted they were playing a weak Rockets team w/out Wall, but it could be the start of something special with Zion/BI/Hart all hurt.
I said a while ago that if he improves certain aspects of his game (namely FT%), he has all-star potential. He just needs to stop getting hurt so much to realize his insane potential.
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audioaxes
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2021 11:48 pm Post subject: |
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Im still not over with how we mishandled Lonzo and BI's development. The Lakers pretty much never get to draft prospects that high and the team took a laissez faire approach to their development. They both had pretty passive personalities and could have been challenged molded into better players with legit skill coaches. Most blaring thing was Lonzo's shot form... he should have been forced to change that on day 1. For BI I recall a journalist noting his strong work ethic but noticed he appeared to always be working on less efficient moves (like turn around midrangers instead of catch and shoot 3s and dribble moves to the rim) without a Lakers assistant in sight guiding him.
Even though we still trade them for AD all day every day, we would not have been fleeced of all our draft picks if they progressed better at that point.
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Snipes
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| Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 11:39 pm Post subject: |
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| audioaxes wrote: | Im still not over with how we mishandled Lonzo and BI's development. The Lakers pretty much never get to draft prospects that high and the team took a laissez faire approach to their development. They both had pretty passive personalities and could have been challenged molded into better players with legit skill coaches. Most blaring thing was Lonzo's shot form... he should have been forced to change that on day 1. For BI I recall a journalist noting his strong work ethic but noticed he appeared to always be working on less efficient moves (like turn around midrangers instead of catch and shoot 3s and dribble moves to the rim) without a Lakers assistant in sight guiding him.
Even though we still trade them for AD all day every day, we would not have been fleeced of all our draft picks if they progressed better at that point. |
You’re not wrong but Lonzo did himself no favors while he was here. Obviously we needed more time with him but in the end it got us AD and a ring. BI had already started to blossom and even though Zo never took off the Pels saw all that they needed and ignored every other trade package.
He’s still hurting his future by being unable to stay healthy. He has to figure it out..sometimes you can’t but the sky is the limit for him if he can stay healthy and that’s a big if right now. |
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cencio_999
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| Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2021 2:06 am Post subject: |
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| audioaxes wrote: | Im still not over with how we mishandled Lonzo and BI's development. The Lakers pretty much never get to draft prospects that high and the team took a laissez faire approach to their development. They both had pretty passive personalities and could have been challenged molded into better players with legit skill coaches. Most blaring thing was Lonzo's shot form... he should have been forced to change that on day 1. For BI I recall a journalist noting his strong work ethic but noticed he appeared to always be working on less efficient moves (like turn around midrangers instead of catch and shoot 3s and dribble moves to the rim) without a Lakers assistant in sight guiding him.
Even though we still trade them for AD all day every day, we would not have been fleeced of all our draft picks if they progressed better at that point. |
Midranges are still BI go to moves, and he was well developed under Luke, who saw his potential as playmaker, something not known when Brandon was drafted.
And actually he was a better defender in his last year as a laker than now. |
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