Looks like Luke could be on TBryant's bandwagon. He earned more time and even got in there fairly early last night, hard not to like him. He looks like a natural paint protector to me. On a couple occasions I saw him just reach out and grab MFs that were trying to cut through the paint, redirecting them, throwing off DEN's offensive timing. Subtle physicality like that can go a long way. Seems like an active communicator on that side of the floor as well. He also had a pretty slick pass out of the semi-high post last night that was pretty sweet. Hard not to like both of our young centers. Always with an eye to the future, though, I wonder if both will stick beyond this year with all of the big plans moving forward. Helps that they both have impressive length, can knock down the J from the outside, and can trail and space out above the free throw line offensively. I guess in the scenario where both stick with LAL for the long haul, LAL would still go out on the market next off-season and bring in a vet 5 that can help them compete with GSW ASAP. Much as I like both Zu and TBryant, I don´t think either is going to be ready to make enough of a difference against GSW over the next 2 or 3 years to plug them in as starters post-Lopez. Regarding staying power with the club, Julius would be a Boston Celtic right now if this FO had it´s way..they tried to deal him for Avery Bradley this summer, so it doesn't really look all that good for him with Kuzmania on the rise. I'm all the way on the bandwagon with this draft class..all 4 of these kids can play.
The Los Angeles Lakers are continuing to build up their new basketball operations focus under Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, and they’re turning to a familiar face with the franchise to add to the off-court talent being gathered. Antawn Jamison finalized details with the franchise to join the team’s scouting department, first reported by Shams Charania of Yahoo’s The Vertical.
Luke said Kuzma is one of the most confident rookies he's ever seen. He doesn't just have the skills, but also the creativity and the confidence. If I'm the FO, I need to see Kuzma VS regulars in the reg-season for about a month/month and a half. If Kuzma's still doing this, I'm on everybody's line 1 with Randle/Clarkson packaged and on the table for trade. Was also nice to see Hart knocking down 3's last night in basically his 1st action all off-season.
Vultures now circling Ingram because of how Kuzma's outshining him this off-season. Gonna have to hold that thought..Ingram's a couple years younger than Kuzma and still needs to get stronger.
Ingram is a stick right now. He needs more muscle. He’s also forcing it more this year. Gotta let the game come to him, get comfortable with his shot and where to take them.
Definitely has to get comfortable with his new shot. Ingram's hype man Magic wants him to prove he's good enough to draw free agents ASAP. I don't really hate the aggressive approach, it's up a notch from the 2nd half of the season and he was pretty aggressive then as well. The only way for him to establish himself to the point where guys look at LAL and envision themselves playing alongside him is for him to prove he can hold his own for lengthy stretches. Even though he needs to get stronger, nobody wants to play with a timid youngster. Youngsters in general don't win titles. Kobe was the exception to the rule..Ingram could be similar with the right guys around him. He just may be a couple years away from that, but Kobe was showing the heart to fight years before he was actually ready to win. Ingram has some soft tendencies to work through..he's not overly quick, so he's not going to be able to slip through the physicality and vanish like young Kobe was @ times. Gonna have to use his length, body control and creativity. Kuzma looks to have excellent body control and know how..Ingram can learn a lot from him.
I know one thing, everyone has to play better defense. Bogut and Lopez is NOT the cure to crappy defense. They may help, but not the answer.
I saw moments of it. There were some beautiful rotations and close outs in the first quarter of the first game against Denver. Then they just stopped for some reason. Fatigue, lack of focus, lack of effort, lack of communication. Not sure what it was, but I can see this team has the ability to play good defense.
There was definitely some fatigue factor going concerning last night's defense, however, not every team is gonna be as tough as Denver is to defend. They're tough because not only can just about everybody hit the 3 ball, but they don't really have any ball-stopping guys who demand touches or play selfish. They just toss the ball around until somebody's open, can run you around for 16-18 seconds every trip and get a good look. But the same thing that helps Denver will also be their downfall because they're going to find themselves in tight ball games late and have nobody to take charge. Millsap is gonna have to be that for them and he's never successfully done that for a real contender, so they won't be one. Obviously, Jokic is inexperienced. But they're going to be a problem for a lot of teams that lack focus and hustle. I think Denver is in this year, probably in Utah's spot. It'll be interesting to see if the Pelicans are better than Denver because the ball is going to stick there with a lot less shooting, but they have a guy or 2 with the the talent to take charge in close games and they should be able to play some defense now with Tony Allen and Rondo joining Davis. Boogie's defense will probably be better as well. We saw flashes of good rotations the other day, but I wonder how they'll look when Lopez comes back Sunday and gives them that experienced rim protector. Don't know how far we are from seeing Bogut, but yeah, Luke said if all goes well in practice and he has no setbacks that Lopez will debut Sunday. Get Zo and Ingram back + Lopez, get a better look at the real thing.
True, but if you can’t stop Denver, there’s no chance to stop a lot of teams in the NBA. Defense has always been about team communication, coaching strategy and plain effort for 4 quarters, especially at the end of games. Other than a few freaks, it’s never just one or two guys that get it done.
I wouldn't say a lot. There aren't a bunch of teams running around with multiple PFs and centers that can knock down 3 pointers at high rates. They play with great spacing and again, they move the ball. The 3pters are daggers. Mudiay could really benefit from all of the shooting they have around him..his shot is getting better too Pelicans added a ton of that this off-season with Allen and Rondo and of course they already have a freak in AD. Can AD stay healthy is a big question...
