LloydBraun wrote:Kek, Cam is contractually obligated to not say anything good about AB, even if it's an assist to Wiggins
He had a nice shuffle pass that led to a dunk, yes.
Sorry I wasn't impressed with his overall game. I did agree with him slamming the ball in frustration. That sums up my feelings when watching him and Payne play.
PS: Payne's box score was solid. He still makes plenty of "what the fuck are you doing" plays on both ends, though. Also gave Dieng a concussion because of how out of control and reckless he plays.
I agree with that, I thought Bennett did better in pnr, d but overall was nothing more than eh
- We were destroyed, as usual, on the interior, whether it was Asik sitting down along the baseline and catching dump-off passes for easy looks or Tyreke Evans taking us off the dribble and getting to the rim.
- A huge part of our interior defensive problems are poor defending bigs, but our perimeter guys don't always do a good job staying in front of their man. Lo Brow got torched a couple of times off the bounce by Evans. LaVine gets swallowed by picks, never to be heard from again.
- I'm not sure what all the excitement over LaVine is lately. He's just a baby in terms of basketball wisdom - there's a lot more poop than erudition. Yes, he definitely makes a couple of "wow" plays per night, but then also takes tons of ill-advised shots and turns the ball over way too much (he's averaging 5 TOs a game over his last 10!). While I'm 100% behind staying patient, I think he's at least a couple years away from flashing even average decision making ability out there.
- Good to see Wiggins stay aggressive. I still worry about his shaky outside shooting, but at least he's getting to the free throw line a ton.
- I actually thought Payne played a solid game. And he had a couple of rebounds that were through sheer grit and determination as opposed to "stealing" them from team mates.
- I see Dieng suffered from a facial contusion from an Adrian Payne elbow. Have no fear though, our crack medical staff should have him back to full healthy by Summer League.
- Lorenzo Brown is a likeable enough cat. I like how he plays at a slow pace and kind of lulls opponents to sleep at times. He also has a knack for getting to loose balls. On the other hand, if he continues to let opposing guards blow by him and turns the ball over, his luster wears off pretty quickly. Defend, run the offense, take care of the ball. Those are his marching orders.
It sounds like Rubio could be back for tomorrow. Good to hear!
I am surprised to see how much flack rookies get on this board. Payne has some real athleticism and is learning the game. In much fewer games he is way father along then Bennet just due to his sheer will. His trajectory has been upward since his arrival. Hope he continues.
thedoper wrote:I am surprised to see how much flack rookies get on this board. Payne has some real athleticism and is learning the game. In much fewer games he is way father along then Bennet just due to his sheer will. His trajectory has been upward since his arrival. Hope he continues.
I think the concerning thing with Payne is his age and past experience. My goodness, he spent 4 years under Tom Izzo, who proved again today that he is one of the great basketball coaches in the country. Payne looks flat-out clueless at times. One is left scratching his head thinking that if he has such a poor feel for the game after 4 years at MSU and a half-season practicing with guys like Horford and Milsap, will he ever really get it?
I did like his energy tonight though. We'll see - he's on a shorter leash than guys like LaVine and even Bennett.
(the issue with Bennett is his salary. I'd want to keep him around and keep developing him if he wasn't on a #1 draft pick's contract).
thedoper wrote:I am surprised to see how much flack rookies get on this board. Payne has some real athleticism and is learning the game. In much fewer games he is way father along then Bennet just due to his sheer will. His trajectory has been upward since his arrival. Hope he continues.
I think the concerning thing with Payne is his age and past experience. My goodness, he spent 4 years under Tom Izzo, who proved again today that he is one of the great basketball coaches in the country. Payne looks flat-out clueless at times. One is left scratching his head thinking that if he has such a poor feel for the game after 4 years at MSU and a half-season practicing with guys like Horford and Milsap, will he ever really get it?
I did like his energy tonight though. We'll see - he's on a shorter leash than guys like LaVine and even Bennett.
(the issue with Bennett is his salary. I'd want to keep him around and keep developing him if he wasn't on a #1 draft pick's contract).
If Payne scores at a decent fg% and hustles in the boards he is serving a good future niche as a back up 4. I think any rookie should be expected to have positioning issues on D, he will improve. And compared to the interior d we have seen for the last 5 years I am prepared to give him a decent chance, provided his role is appropriate.
Q, to your point on LaVine. I think the thing that holds him back from breaking out more than anything at PG is his decision making. And because of this, I'd love to see him bulk up a bit and just play SG where he could let guys like Lo and Ricky run the offense and just let his ability take over without all the thinking.
Payne looks absolutely cluelessly lost at times it's hard to even come up with the hyperbole of how bad it is at least a couple times a game that I have watched. It's bizarre how bad it is.
Q I think there is 2 things working against Brown on the defensive end from the little I have seen.
1. He isn't an explosive athlete he is smooth and he is athletic it's just like an old guy that once was pretty good athlete and lost a step but still has it. He can get up there is a sweet outback dunk he had in the d-league that was good for a SG much less a PG. Some quick guys just have that burst and he can't move with that burst. He has length that could make up for that in some cases a lot of that is mental which brings me to the next point.
2. Sometimes I think he gets beat because he doesn't know where his help is supposed to be or his teammates are not there for him. I mean no way that Utah guy Joe Ingles is really that explosive to beat him that easily. I really think Brown looks even worse because the defense is so bad so clueless he is out on an island and you have to make guys go one way and if you have no help you are screwed.
To me the key with Brown is if he can hit a decent percentage of even just catch and shoot 3's and play a little more smart on D he might be a nice 3rd PG. We kinda need someone that's a different change of pace as a backup to Rubio not a guy thats a lot like him in some ways. Since he is a big PG with a questionable outside shot he is easily compared to Sessions but if he was a taller version of Telfair that's a pretty decent player for a 3rd pg.
For any of you still watching this shit-show and trying to glean some meaning out of it I applaud you. I turned it on for about 2 minutes today between the excellent college games, saw Luke Babbitt's hair drain a three, and that was enough for me.
Mstermisty wrote:For any of you still watching this shit-show and trying to glean some meaning out of it I applaud you. I turned it on for about 2 minutes today between the excellent college games, saw Luke Babbitt's hair drain a three, and that was enough for me.
Lol I only watched the highlights and I saw Babbit with that 3. I love how he doesn't get any lift I that shot. It's like one of my friends from college I play ball with I say he always has the top 5 plays below the rim. Lol I always say he doesn't jump he just lifts his legs up in the air to trick you into thinking he does.
