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NBA 2016/17

The Suns line-up was younger than 7 out of the 8 NCAA teams in action on the same day. So it's not surprising they lost.

They sat down their veterans about 2 weeks ago - now playing only to tank. So I doubt they care at all that they lost.

As a Suns fan, am happy they're finally doing the smart thing, and trying to get a top 3 pick in what appears to be a really exciting upcoming draft.
 
The Suns line-up was younger than 7 out of the 8 NCAA teams in action on the same day. So it's not surprising they lost.

They sat down their veterans about 2 weeks ago - now playing only to tank. So I doubt they care at all that they lost.

As a Suns fan, am happy they're finally doing the smart thing, and trying to get a top 3 pick in what appears to be a really exciting upcoming draft.

Papa Ball is going to be pissed off if the Suns pick him.
 
Is Ball the most likely to flop of the expected top picks ? Maybe top 5.

I've never seen him play but everyone says his shot mechanics are weird and he could struggle to get shots off in the NBA. For them they saw his match up against D'Aaron (?) Fox last weekend as being an indicator of how the NBA will be for Ball - and it didn't go well.

As for the NBA - the Celtics are no.1 in the east. That probably doesn't really mean anything but the Cavs have one of the worst defences in the NBA since the All Star Break. And some SportsVU tracker has them as the slowest team in the NBA. Those things clealry hurt them and it seems to give the Raptors, Celtics and the Wizards hope.
 
Is Ball the most likely to flop of the expected top picks ? Maybe top 5.

I've never seen him play but everyone says his shot mechanics are weird and he could struggle to get shots off in the NBA. For them they saw his match up against D'Aaron (?) Fox last weekend as being an indicator of how the NBA will be for Ball - and it didn't go well.

As for the NBA - the Celtics are no.1 in the east. That probably doesn't really mean anything but the Cavs have one of the worst defences in the NBA since the All Star Break. And some SportsVU tracker has them as the slowest team in the NBA. Those things clealry hurt them and it seems to give the Raptors, Celtics and the Wizards hope.

There's a lot of hype surrounding Ball so I decided to watch the UCLA v Kentucky game in the NCAA tournament. Obviously I picked the one game where he didn't turn up. He's a team player though, that much is true, but I didn't see any evidence that he somehow makes the team better. Has a weird shot too.

As for the East...the Cavaliers are in trouble. LeBron is currently the only player on that roster that is consistently performing.
2nd worse defence in the league.
2nd oldest team in the league.

It's looking bad, the only hope is that they somehow will use these last games in the regular season to get their defence going and turn up for the playoffs. LeBron will shift gears and start his playoff mode and their opponents will start covering him a lot more but the problem here is, will his teammates be able to exploit it?
As they say in the NBA, "you live by the three and you die by it". When the Cavs aren't hitting their shots they don't win. Smith is having his worst season so far since coming back from injury. Love is inconsistent and Frye too.
The key here is Kyrie and what form he'll be in come playoff time. He was invisible against the Spurs.
 
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I think i heard on a podcast this morning their transition defence is 30th in the league. Their half court is 12th. Over the entire season.

If it holds true that in the playoffs the game slows down and its about the half court game then it doesn't matter so much. But they are an old team thats been deep in the playoffs the last two seasons. They could be wearing down.
 
Wear and tear is a factor obviously but so is experience, especially in the playoffs.


Tyronne Lue is currently talking about coasting these last few regular season games, resting LeBron and Kyrie primarily.
 
I really like Ball. His passing and feel for the game is ridiculously good. His shot is funky-looking, but he has a gorgeous touch on it. He's shooting over 40%, and showing deep range, so I'm not sure why the optics of the shot should matter. It's not like there haven't been weird looking shotmakers in the NBA in the past - Kevin Martin comes to mind, and he had a career average of 38%. Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa are others I can think of. In fact, even Curry has a weird looking release.

The major issues would be whether he can defend NBA point-guards. At 6'6, his lateral quickness isn't the kind to to be able keep up with speed demons like Westbrook, Wall etc. Secondly, he doesn't have much of a midrange game yet, which could limit his scoring potential.

I suppose the fear is that he'd be a better shooting version of Ricky Rubio rather than a transcendent player like Kidd.
 
Josh Jackson on the other hand is someone who I think will really struggle shooting the ball in the NBA.

He has a long, protracted release with a lot of drag. He has average length as well, so I can see him struggling badly. His free throw shooting is also spectacularly bad for a wing player (about 55%).

Which is a pity, because the rest of his game seems top class.
 
Is Ball the most likely to flop of the expected top picks ? Maybe top 5.

I've never seen him play but everyone says his shot mechanics are weird and he could struggle to get shots off in the NBA. For them they saw his match up against D'Aaron (?) Fox last weekend as being an indicator of how the NBA will be for Ball - and it didn't go well.

As for the NBA - the Celtics are no.1 in the east. That probably doesn't really mean anything but the Cavs have one of the worst defences in the NBA since the All Star Break. And some SportsVU tracker has them as the slowest team in the NBA. Those things clealry hurt them and it seems to give the Raptors, Celtics and the Wizards hope.
Here, have a look. It's obviously a compilation, but a very good one. He's an exciting player to watch.

 
I'm only a recent convert to the NBA so i don't have much knowledge in terms of past players but there is a touch of Steph Curry about him.

I think the mechanics problem might be that with such a low release he might be blocked a lot by better and bigger athletes in the NBA.

Those alley oop passes are insane.
 
That's a legitimate concern, but mitigated by the fact that he's 6'6, and will thus be taller than most point guards defending him.

Plus his release seems to be quite quick too.
 
Hahaha.

Cavs can't even beat the Bulls without Wade.
I think it's going to be an early exit for the Cavaliers in the play offs.
 
The highlights of Curry v. Wizards are unreal
That play with Curry and Gortat was almost embarrassing to watch.
Curry has found his form and the Warriors are back to playing the way they did before Durant.
The teams in the west are going to get shook.

I'd recommend watching the Cavs - Pacers highlights as well. Good game.
 
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