Originally posted by JiksJuicy:
I'm exited to see this team in action. We have a young nucleus in Hayward, Favors, Evans, Burks, Kanter, but we also have some vets like Raja, Okur, Milsap, Jefferson, Harris, Watson, and Miles. It's tough to really know how good or bad this team is going to be this year. Corbin is basically a rookie H.C., he didn't have an off-season to install anything to a bunch of young guys. On the other end we do have those vets, and I see us running a Sloan type system so they could carry a bunch of the load for the early parts of the season. There is just so much mystery to this team this year. How good is Hayward? Can Memo make an impact again? Can Bell get his shot back? How will we balance this abundance of big men? How good will Kanter be? And Burks(looking forward to Burks), Will Milsap play the 3? I could go on, but you get the point. So much raw talent there it's tough not to be pretty anxious for the season to start.
What really gets me excited is that we have the GSW pick in next years draft. It's likely that we can have 2 lotto picks AGAIN next year. That will give us 6 lotto picks in 3 straight drafts. We have a ton of young talent, and should be a fun team to watch. I think after the season we will see the team move Jefferson, but I don't really see them making any moves before then.
On another note, they finally changing up their defense! Instead of forcing the ball handler to the middle, they are going to force them to the baseline. This should hopefully help us defend the 3. Over the last few years we've given up so many open threes. Hopefully that changes.
I'm excited to see if Hayward and Favors build off of last year. They really played will together at the end of the year. As for the rookies I hope they get more than 5-10 minutes a game.
Alec Burks is impressing in camp so far. He bulked up before camp, and spent time with Hayward in Indiana. There is a good chance he starts at SG early this year.
Derrick Favors looks really good. I saw the scrimmage game on Saturday, and he played really well, and last night he dropped 25 and 12. He has really improved since last year. He already has developed some nice post moves. I hope he starts, because he will be beastly very soon.
Kanter did alright. He has good range on his shot, is a + rebounder from what I've seen, but looks lost on offense. The talent is definitely there, but he has a lot to learn. I don't think he'll average more than 10 minutes this year.
Alec Burks looks like he could be a very good player. He also has a long way to go as well, but he is far more ready to play than Kanter
He looked really rusty from what I've seen, but we get a 2nd round pick and a trade exception.This also frees up some time for Kanter. I honestly think Favors will win the starting job soon
Originally posted by saniner:
Jazz trade Okur to the Nets!!
He looked really rusty from what I've seen, but we get a 2nd round pick and a trade exception.This also frees up some time for Kanter. I honestly think Favors will win the starting job soon
Not really a huge loss, but was kind of looking forward to having "Money" out there again. Oh well. So yeah that clears up a little room for players like Kanter to step in for Jefferson, and either Milsap or Favors starting the 4.
Originally posted by JiksJuicy: Not really a huge loss, but was kind of looking forward to having "Money" out there again. Oh well. So yeah that clears up a little room for players like Kanter to step in for Jefferson, and either Milsap or Favors starting the 4.
Looks like Favors will be starting at the 4. Millsap said he was okay with coming off the bench if Corbin really wanted him to.
As for the Okur trade, it frees up close to $11 million. Very fair trade for both teams. It sucks to see him go, but it makes sense for the current team.
Our bench looks pretty good with Millsap and Miles leading the way. It will be interesting to see how many minutes Kanter and Burks get tonight. I think Kanter will actually play more.
WtF is going on here? Just got off work and seen the score... I take it by your previous comment we still have a long way to go. I guess it's to be expected.
They have a really long way to go. They looked lost on both ends of the floor. The good thing is that the young guys got plenty of minutes. Kanter showed he can play, but he needs so much work offensively. He played well grabbing 11 rebounds, but was so lost trying to score under the basket.
Favors started off really well, but picked up 2 quick fouls and that was pretty much it for him.
Not too worried about this game, I just hope it doesn't become a trend
Some observations from sitting behind the Laker bench last night...
-You guys are very poorly coached. Player movement is minimal, their communication on the court is nonexistent, and there's no enthusiasm in their body language.
-This team needs a PG in the worst way, or SOMEONE who can create open shots for other people. Neither the guards, wings, or bigs seem at all interested in getting someone else an open shot.
-Al Jefferson is overweight.
-Derrick Favors is enormous. Can't believe he's only 20. No skills though.
-Enes Kanter has a good motor. He's more skilled than he showed last night, so the fact that he keeps battling is a great sign.
-I've never seen a guy like Gordon Hayward. He doesn't at all look like a basketball player if you look at his face, but as soon as he touches a basketball you can tell that he was born to play the sport. Really smooth, fluid player. He needs more minutes.
-Ty Corbin is CONSTANTLY complaining.
-Someone needs to send Raja Bell to the glue factory.
Not really a huge loss, but was kind of looking forward to having "Money" out there again. Oh well. So yeah that clears up a little room for players like Kanter to step in for Jefferson, and either Milsap or Favors starting the 4.
