Randle was being guarded by Dorell Wright, Victor Claver and Meyers Leonard for his buckets. I'd be disappointed if he couldn't put together a highlight tape on those 3.
Randle was being guarded by Dorell Wright, Victor Claver and Meyers Leonard for his buckets. I'd be disappointed if he couldn't put together a highlight tape on those 3.
facing better defenders will make it a lot harder for him to get in the paint and dribble so much but for a PF that 18 foot shot should be open most of the time so its nice to see him hitting that
Not sure aldridge or Robin lopez would have slowed him down much. But yea it'd be great to see him perform like this vs blake or ant davis
I've been high on Jr but I knew this kid had it in him the 1st game against the warriors. He drove and dipped his shoulder straight into mo speights chest and completely shed him, left him standing out of bounds like a photographer. That's grown man business and he's only 19. Also the block on 9'7 gobert shouldn't go unnoticed
Watching julius you really get the sense that it's only a matter of time and opportunity
Lin just can't keep up w/ Lillard. Dude was frozen most of the time on defense. Offensively, it looks somewhat terrible and street ballish if you ask me. Sloppy, sloppy, and disoriented, like it was some scrimmage. Oh well.
I gotta say, Randle was pretty good in the sense that his body language shows how much he really wants to play. Dude can really handle the ball for his size.
Julius Randle is the real deal. He can rebound at a good rate, his defense is not + or - just average (which is fine), he can handle the ball better than most at his position, is looking to get the ball to the open guy just as much as trying to get to the basket, pretty good court vision, has very good moves to get to the basket, good body control. A couple of problems that he has are he still looks a bit lost/hesitant, but that is an expected problem with all rookies, and will subside slowly throughout the season as he gets comfortable with the pace of play and his ability. Has that crazy spin move, just needs to hold the ball a little closer to keep away from guards. A couple of plays, he lost the ball on the spin that were all about ball placement. He's made some of those 17 footers, but not enough to make it a tool for him. That shot is key to getting him from Very Good to All-Star level.
@JonesOnTheNBA 3h3 hours ago
Randle is a Z-Bo + Odom hybrid with more explosiveness
Nate Jones is not someone who easily gives titles away to people.
I've had some time to reflect on the Carlos Boozer signing, and it makes more sense why they picked him up. I get it, he's old and isn't a super likeable guy. So I understand why people hate the move at the same time. But a few things at $3.2mil, it's literally one of the best value contracts in the league. He also is a positional mentor for Julius Randle. The defensive end aside, you have to remember that Carlos Boozer was a 20 & 10 guy in his prime, and he was largely a "blue-collar" below the rim player, which is what many view for Randle. That's important leadership that Julius can learn from. It's one thing to learn basketball from Kobe & Nash, great basketball minds, but having a veteran who plays your position is a great learning tool. Boozer also makes Randle earn his starting spot. Yes, Randle deserves to start. 100% absolutely. But, having to earn his minutes (and eventually the starting role) will make him much better. It's not like we're putting Ryan Kelly ahead of him in the depth chart which would insult him, it's someone who he needs to give respect to and work. Randle also needs to be eased into his minutes. Expose him too fast he could 1. lose confidence 2. get hurt. Also I'd like him to start off lower minutes rookie year, and just incrementally increase when his role increases.
On the other hand, I get the apprehension, the person Boozer impacts most is Ryan Kelly. Kelly proved to be a useful basketball player, matter of fact a steal in the second round. A guy who can give you 14 minutes with solid knowledge of the game, knows where he needs to be, decent rebounding, and while he needs to improve his shot to be completely reliable/effective, can stretch the floor a bit. But his problem, is his lack of versatility, which is why the Boozer signing impacts him so much. He can only play the 4, cannot really go down to the 3 for a couple of minutes, which was a problem before we even got Boozer. For him to take that next step to streaky bench player to a reliable bench piece, he needs that versatility to get more minutes. I think it will really be hard for him to get minutes, which annoys me, but at best, he was always going to be the 9th guy in a rotation.
Jeremy Lin is very Ramon Sessions esque. He gets to the basket very easily, which allows him to find the open teammate, and get to the line fairly often. He also finishes as well as any guard in the league. Unfortunately like Sessions, his shot is meh (better than Sessions but not great), and his defense is meh. Lin is definitely the better player, but he is a good starter, not an All-Star, but good and will generate a lot of easy points in the paint for himself and others.
Wayne Ellington stinks.
Ronnie Price looks like a solid 3rd PG. Will have to be a backup unfortunately because Heave Bags Nash will play about 100 minutes this season.
Ed Davis has been a great surprise, protecting the rim at a high rate, the Lin/Davis P&R is fun to watch. He will be another high value contract (0% chance he’s a Laker next year though, he’ll get that Lakers raise in the offseason and never play to his contract level).
Jordan Hill still looks great 9.5/8.2 in 23.7mpg is amazing. Hill is still one of the best rebounders in basketball.
Unfortunately for us, neither Davis nor Hill are starters.
Again, the amount of 3 pointers is unacceptable. 10-12 a game is really frustrating. To be a successful team, you really can’t fall under 17-18. Why? It allows spacing which helps Kobe to find areas on the floor to get his shot. Allows Julius to be able to get the ball at the perimeter and break down his defender, either get to the basket easier or look for the guy in the corner. Same thing for Lin, he’s masterful in the P&R, a team that shoots 3s more not only gives the roll man more room because teams have to stay with their man and not collapse on the paint, Lin can also look for the open shooter.
If I’m making the final roster
PG: Lin / Nash / Price
SG: Bryant / Clarkson / Henry
SF: Johnson / Swaggy P
PF: Boozer / Randle / Kelly
C: Hill / Davis / Sacre
Should just put Ryan Kelly down in the DLeague until an injury requires him in the NBA. Then next year, Randle is full time starter 30-32 minutes per game, and Kelly is the backup. I don't see Randle ever being a 36 minutes guy.
From a long term perspective:
I think Lin will be our PG for the next few years. He's no All-Star, but he's a good PG. Literally in the Top 10% of NBA players in Points Per Possession in the Pick & Roll. I don't see him getting much more than what he got in his last contract. Eric Bledsoe set the market at $13mil first year, which will put Dragic at $11-13mil, which would put Lin at $8-9.5mil. For what he is, and the money he brings in. Hard for Lakers to say no. Only way they don't is if they can bring in a Star with a big man next year, or a star in 2016, which means Lin is either traded or moves to the bench.
I think Price could be around for a couple of years as a 3rd PG, assuming he's a $1-2mil player. Seems to be a guy Kobe respects as well.
Depending on how much Davis will get on the open market, I don't think Hill's time as a Laker is done at the end of the season (If he's not traded, he better be). If he is traded, and hits the open market, still a chance he's back here. No way the Lakers will accept his player option. But at $6mil a year, which is fair AAV for him, I think he would be back as the backup Center/PF, Energy Guy & Rebound Machine
Definitely changes Lin & Hill/Davis if we somehow get a Top 3 Pick, which would mean either Mudiay or Okafor or Townes. If we go Center, no reason for Hill or Davis, unless we are going the Randle route, a place holder as starter until other guy is 100% ready. Which would then mean we are going all in on Rajon Rondo.
Sacre will probably be around for a long time. But as a career 3rd Center. Going back to stats, he's better than Josh Powell & DJ Mbenga is pretty much every category. Doesn't say much, but still those were 3rd Centers on a Championship Team. He's also one of the biggest morale guys in the league. At a small price tag every year.
Strictly from a roster building perspective of the current team:
We are missing
1. A defensive Center that can start
2. Someone who can shoulder some of the load scoring
3. Another shooter off the bench
i really like randle coming off the bench with linsanity.
I can see randle averaging 15-7 if he can consistently make that 18 footer. rookie of the year/sixth man of the year here we come!
Every giddamn time she opens her mouth I wanna scream. Jim gonna be the scape goat. Which sucks cuz I was all wrong about jimmy. Give him all control and he'd do well.
Every giddamn time she opens her mouth I wanna scream. Jim gonna be the scape goat. Which sucks cuz I was all wrong about jimmy. Give him all control and he'd do well.
The thing she didn't do was defend Jim & Mitch well enough. By pausing when Cowherd asked "Do you know who makes basketball decisions?" Makes it sound like we make decisions by throwing a dart at a dartboard. You immediately say, Jim & Mitch work together on Basketball Decisions, and come to a consensus. Simple.
Her problem with the Phil questions was she did not mention Dr. Buss made the decision. Jim & Mitch were tasked with the interviews of candidates, and reporting back to Dr. Buss. The way she answered made it seem like she wanted Phil, Jim & Mitch wanted different. When it was Jim who went to Jeanie, and asked about Phil coaching again.
And I'm fine with her running the business side, but she really has to defend Jim because Jim doesn't care enough to defend himself. He doesn't feel it's his place to be in the news.
Also Cowherd was able to plant the seed that Jeanie can fire Jim. Now is saying Fire Jim.
Jim Buss Need to come out swinging and go on the air.
After MDA was coach there really wasn't a place for him.
But you're right, she should have stated it better. But the only way to do so, would be to partially throw Phil under the bus (no pun). Phil wanted full control of basketball decisions. How is that going to happen when we have 2 guys who make basketball decisions, one of which is at the top of best GMs in the business.