***2012-13 NBA THREAD!!! New Season/New Thread - LET'S GO!!!!!***

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

Are you saying you would have actually taken Lamb over Beal?

I don't have to justify the Beal pick. He was the obvious choice.

Lamb's averages improved in his second year about like you'd expect a freshman second banana's numbers to improve moving into a sophomore year where he was the man.

But that doesn't mean he actually had a good year. In fact, he didn't. And UConn had a disastrous season. I'm curious, how much of UConn did you catch? I saw several games and Lamb was not good. Pretty much nobody who saw him play thought he was better than Beal and nobody wanted him over Beal at 3.

Not even the Thunder think Lamb is better. Beal was the guy they tried to trade up to #2 for.

PJIII is a bum. I watched him both years at Baylor. Figured maybe it was just a fluke after the freshman year, that he would adjust and learn to dominate the next year. Nope. He is what he is. He was a loser in HS. He was a loser as the big recruit his freshman year. He was invisible as a sophomore. He's got #1 overall talent but he's got no heart whatsoever. He's not even going to be a decent NBA player, much less live up to a fraction of his potential. He doesn't seem to care about BBall at all.

Beal only became the "obvious" choice because of some weird PR campaign the last year. He wasnt that good last year at Florida to the point that he should have been the #1 shooting guard in the draft.

Me personally? I advocated Drummond, but if we had to get a SG I think Lamb is the best bet. Trade down and get him instead of taking Beal.

And I like how you blame college kids for the disastrous year at UConn and not a horrible coaching situation.

As freshmen, Lamb was the better player. And Lamb has more of what you want in an NBA 2guard than Beal.


and I think PJ3 is in the right situation. He isnt asked to be the man, but one of the players. He will be very good in that role for them, imo. I agree that if he was drafted as the franchise player, it would end up a disaster for the guy and that franchise.

[ixcuincle]

I am biased against the HEat but they have a point in that they shouldn't be playing today

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/to...6839--nba.html

Wade was so sure the game would be postponed that he never even packed until after practice Thursday. His reaction to all the traffic as New Yorkers struggle to recover further convinced him it should have been rescheduled.

''If we're in a car and we're in traffic for three hours, what are other people who are really affected by this, what are they doing? How are they getting around, how are they moving, et cetera?'' Wade said after the Heat's morning shootaround at Madison Square Garden.

''So it was just like, come on man, we shouldn't be here to play a basketball game. If anything, we should be here to do something to help the city.''

Cancel game. Spend the time helping the community recover. Big PR, everyone wins.

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

I am biased against the HEat but they have a point in that they shouldn't be playing today

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/to...6839--nba.html



Cancel game. Spend the time helping the community recover. Big PR, everyone wins.

thats all on "greatest commissioner in sports history" Stern. He will escape criticism for this.

[Destino]

I mean, we all saw what happens when he becomes aggressive last night. He starts taking bad shots, forcing up jumpers, throwing up wild layups etc. If he were to drive a kick some more, people would respect the pass and not converge on him every time when he gets to the paint. 5 assists and 6 turnovers? not gonna get it done. They should have played harden as point guard and moved westbrook to shooting guard. harden is a better play maker than westbrook is when it comes to getting OTHER people shots. but its too late for that lol

I watched the game last night and one thing I noticed was that Westbrook couldn't buy a foul call. The dude got hammered on his drives to the bucket and the refs just ignored him. Even Reggie Miller pointed out at one point when Westbrook got knocked over on the dribble and there was no whistle either way that "that had to be something". His layups and pull up jumpers aren't wild, they are fairly consistent.

---------- Post added November-2nd-2012 at 06:58 PM ----------

what does this mean?

That they break the rules of what basketball has traditionally required to be successful. They are a team that falls in love with long jump shots and they rely far too much on hero ball. We've seen that hero ball can work when you have an overwhelming talent and athletic advantage. They have less talent now and I don't think what they have left is enough to mirror last years results. The team will need to change if they have a hope of getting to the conference championship again, let alone win it. I don't give them a chance in hell should they play the Heat again.

[MLSKINS]

I mentioned that because you suggested Russy should pass the ball more when his jumpshot is not going down.

I think PJ3 and Lamb will be able scorers going forward.

True. But when I said Westbrook should pass more, I meant kick outs and stuff.

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

That they break the rules of what basketball has traditionally required to be successful. They are a team that falls in love with long jump shots and they rely far too much on hero ball. We've seen that hero ball can work when you have an overwhelming talent and athletic advantage. They have less talent now and I don't think what they have left is enough to mirror last years results. The team will need to change if they have a hope of getting to the conference championship again, let alone win it. I don't give them a chance in hell should they play the Heat again.

idk, I believe they have a lot of talent. More than most teams.

I think they need proper coaching tho.

---------- Post added November-2nd-2012 at 07:46 PM ----------

True. But when I said Westbrook should pass more, I meant kick outs and stuff.

Outside of Durant and Martin, they dont have shooters right now.

[MLSKINS]

idk, I believe they have a lot of talent. More than most teams.

I think they need proper coaching tho.

---------- Post added November-2nd-2012 at 07:46 PM ----------



Outside of Durant and Martin, they dont have shooters right now.

The might not be Ray Allen, but Maynor and Sefolosha could knock some down.

---------- Post added November-2nd-2012 at 08:02 PM ----------

Oh yeah, Magic Johnson is an idiot. He said he would trade Pau Gasol for Josh Smith.

[stevemcqueen1]

Oh yeah, Magic Johnson is an idiot. He said he would trade Pau Gasol for Josh Smith.

I like Josh Smith as a whole. I don't know about him on the Lakers. But he's a good and underrated player IMO. He can defend, pass, rebound, and score in a variety of ways. He would be an upgrade at forward for most teams around the league. Over Pau? Probably not. I really like Pau's game too.

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

The might not be Ray Allen, but Maynor and Sefolosha could knock some down.

---------- Post added November-2nd-2012 at 08:02 PM ----------

Oh yeah, Magic Johnson is an idiot. He said he would trade Pau Gasol for Josh Smith.

unless those two have improved a lot over the summer, I doubt it. Both are not even decent shooters.



and I would trade Gasol for Smith. Smith can do everything Gasol can do, but brings athleticism and better defending.

[stevemcqueen1]

Beal only became the "obvious" choice because of some weird PR campaign the last year. He wasnt that good last year at Florida to the point that he should have been the #1 shooting guard in the draft.

Me personally? I advocated Drummond, but if we had to get a SG I think Lamb is the best bet. Trade down and get him instead of taking Beal.

And I like how you blame college kids for the disastrous year at UConn and not a horrible coaching situation.

I blame Lamb for the way he responded to the situation. He started gunning and playing for his own numbers in some games, completely checking out in others. Just selfish basketball. It made everything else that was going on worse.

Drummond would have been more defensible at 3 than Lamb, but to me, you can't justify taking such a huge project over a guy who fit the current team so well. Shooting was our biggest problem. Drummond was a guy you might not see any real return on investment until four to six years from now. And the Wiz do not have a good track record for developing projects.

Wall needed a good player to play with in the more immediate future. Wall is the Wizards franchise. His development was lagging and it hurt not having any other good NBA players to play with. The pick had to be either Beal or TRob.

As freshmen, Lamb was the better player. And Lamb has more of what you want in an NBA 2guard than Beal.

I disagree. Beal has a better NBA body and he does it all whereas Lamb is a much less versatile player. Beal will run through a hundred screens a night hounding the perimeter on defense, he will look to set up teammates and move the ball, he will rebound and block shots, he will spot up and provide a shooting threat from mid range and from 3, but he can also get to the rim and show some creativity.

And he's going to do it all taking good shots and playing strong assignment-minded basketball.

I think Beal is a really prototypical 2 guard for the NBA game. Lamb is a rail thin scorer who is going to have a harder adjustment to the NBA IMO. He's got no strength on him. He's going to have to live off that tear drop when he drives because he can't finish through contact, and he's going to need an offense designed to get him open looks on the perimeter--which I see being a problem for him in OKC.

and I think PJ3 is in the right situation. He isnt asked to be the man, but one of the players. He will be very good in that role for them, imo. I agree that if he was drafted as the franchise player, it would end up a disaster for the guy and that franchise.

Where we disagree is that I don't think any situation is right for PJIII. I believe his heart is not in basketball and he would rather do something else with his life, but the money was just too good for a few seasons in the NBA. He just doesn't seem to care. He's a 6'11 leaper with skills that outruns his guards. He would be flat out dominant with even modest effort.

What's going to happen for him in OKC is he's going to languish on the bench and never get burn because the coach isn't going to trust him enough to give him meaningful PT, and the OKC coach has no real need to develop him since he's already got KD and Russ.

Lamb has a much better chance to become a useful role player for them. For a good team Lamb can be KMart. He's going to assume that same role once KMart is gone. But for a bad team like ours, Lamb would be Nick Young all over again.

---------- Post added November-2nd-2012 at 08:46 PM ----------

unless those two have improved a lot over the summer, I doubt it. Both are not even decent shooters.



and I would trade Gasol for Smith. Smith can do everything Gasol can do, but brings athleticism and better defending.

I think Smith would be good for the Lakers but I think Gasol is better. Smith can drive and pass and shoot passably from mid range, but he has a lot of mental lapses. Plus Gasol is a better at playing classic big man defense. Smith isn't really a true big man, more of a perimeter oriented forward. You use Gasol to play positional D on any big man you face and then you're free to really feature Dwight and let him play the ball. Really gives you flexibility with Dwight IMO, who I think will get more valuable as he regains his explosiveness. I don't think Josh Smith is as natural a pair with Dwight.

This all assumes the Lakers don't sell off Gasol for nothing to get out of his contract. I think that would be so foolish. A player like Pau was born to play with a player like Dwight. Though most bigs would love to play with one like Dwight.

[Destino]

Hardens got over 30 again.

Edit... Over 40 now on 19 shots.

And rockets win again. Harden is 14/19 45points.

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

I blame Lamb for the way he responded to the situation. He started gunning and playing for his own numbers in some games, completely checking out in others. Just selfish basketball. It made everything else that was going on worse.

Drummond would have been more defensible at 3 than Lamb, but to me, you can't justify taking such a huge project over a guy who fit the current team so well. Shooting was our biggest problem. Drummond was a guy you might not see any real return on investment until four to six years from now. And the Wiz do not have a good track record for developing projects.

Wall needed a good player to play with in the more immediate future. Wall is the Wizards franchise. His development was lagging and it hurt not having any other good NBA players to play with. The pick had to be either Beal or TRob.

the thing is Beal isnt going to be a superstar. Drummond is a guy who could be, and I dont believe he is as big of a project as people think also. When you get a pick that high, the player better be a superstar-like talent. Even tho I dont like Fats Waiters, he has that talent. I just dont see it with Beal. And we are not a team thats going to start winning things tomorrow either.

and "how he responded to the situation?" He was 19 years old and their coach checked out on the team. Plus Shabazz Napier, their point guard, was a terrible point guard.

I disagree. Beal has a better NBA body and he does it all whereas Lamb is a much less versatile player. Beal will run through a hundred screens a night hounding the perimeter on defense, he will look to set up teammates and move the ball, he will rebound and block shots, he will spot up and provide a shooting threat from mid range and from 3, but he can also get to the rim and show some creativity.

And he's going to do it all taking good shots and playing strong assignment-minded basketball.

NO HE DOESNT, LMAO.

Lamb is taller, has a bigger frame, and is longer. And how can Lamb be a less versatile player when he can at least dribble a basketball. Beal is a catch and shoot player.

I think Beal is a really prototypical 2 guard for the NBA game.

the pre MJ prototypical 2guard. You need an athalete [/Barkley] out on the wing that can get to the basket. Beal is a decent athlete, but is not getting by these freak 2guards in the league.

Lamb is a rail thin scorer who is going to have a harder adjustment to the NBA IMO. He's got no strength on him. He's going to have to live off that tear drop when he drives because he can't finish through contact, and he's going to need an offense designed to get him open looks on the perimeter--which I see being a problem for him in OKC.

I just dont see what Beal did to

Where we disagree is that I don't think any situation is right for PJIII. I believe his heart is not in basketball and he would rather do something else with his life, but the money was just too good for a few seasons in the NBA. He just doesn't seem to care. He's a 6'11 leaper with skills that outruns his guards. He would be flat out dominant with even modest effort.

What's going to happen for him in OKC is he's going to languish on the bench and never get burn because the coach isn't going to trust him enough to give him meaningful PT, and the OKC coach has no real need to develop him since he's already got KD and Russ.

I have no idea. I believe in that guy's talent and I believe that seeing KD and Russy will be good for him

I think Smith would be good for the Lakers but I think Gasol is better. Smith can drive and pass and shoot passably from mid range, but he has a lot of mental lapses. Plus Gasol is a better at playing classic big man defense. Smith isn't really a true big man, more of a perimeter oriented forward. You use Gasol to play positional D on any big man you face and then you're free to really feature Dwight and let him play the ball. Really gives you flexibility with Dwight IMO, who I think will get more valuable as he regains his explosiveness. I don't think Josh Smith is as natural a pair with Dwight.

This all assumes the Lakers don't sell off Gasol for nothing to get out of his contract. I think that would be so foolish. A player like Pau was born to play with a player like Dwight. Though most bigs would love to play with one like Dwight.

If Smith is a perimeter big, while Howard has to stay around the basket, I think that works out great for both. Gives Howard more space. It also allows the Kobster to post up more.

And the Lakers need more athletes.

Gasol was getting abused by Brandon Wright, I just dont see it.

I do agree with you about Smith's mental lapses tho, but then again so does Gasol.

If Im the Lakers, I ditch him.

---------- Post added November-2nd-2012 at 10:07 PM ----------

Hardens got over 30 again.

Edit... Over 40 now on 19 shots.

And rockets win again. Harden is 14/19 45points.

Proving. A. Point.

I love it.

---------- Post added November-2nd-2012 at 10:05 PM ----------

Hardens got over 30 again.

Edit... Over 40 now on 19 shots.

And rockets win again. Harden is 14/19 45points.

Proving. A. Point.

I love it.

[DCranon21]

And the Bobcats win before the Lakers. Think I'm going to be sick..

[MLSKINS]

Harden is making it really hard for me to defend the Thunder trading him.

[Destino]

Harden is making it really hard for me to defend the Thunder trading him.

It's a long season but right now I think people are going to start wondering if they screwed up giving Westbrook the minutes and money. Harden may prove to be the better guard of the two.