Minnesota at Philadelphia: Joel Embiid is A Punk

[Coolbreeze44]

Giannis air-balled two consecutive free throws last night, the 2nd worse than the first. I would have thought free throw shooting would have been his highest priority during the offseason.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's Next Day DVR Review...

- Whoa. The fight. One-game suspension for both. Sadly, the Wolves had a very winnable game vs. Washington that Towns will miss.

- Towns is now 18 - 34 (53%) on three pointers.
- The rest of the team is 30 - 127 (24%).

- There aren't too many NBA guards who have missed back-to-back free throws worse than Culver. Those were scuds. Yuck. I'm worried. The team is already looking at a lengthy rebuild. They need to hit on the draft picks.

- Philly was my pick to win the championship. And nothing has changed. They're SO big. SO physical. And I assume they'll get a veteran shooter at some point (probably for free) as well.

- Back to the fight. It sucks that Towns will miss a game(s). But if we think back to last year... he was ripped for doing nothing during the Butler saga even though he was trying to take the high road. So I guess many will consider that it's "good" to show some fight, literally.

- This Wolves squad is gonna be overmatched at times this season. There's just no way out of that box right now.

- Simmons. Harris. Horford. Richardson. It could be argued (easily) that each of them is better than the Wolves 2nd best player.

- Gotta admit... Embiid is a GREAT troll. It sorta bothered me that he was playing to the crowd. But I'd probably dig it if I was a 76ers fan.

I'm not a BB player at all and even I can make free throws at a higher rate, shooting hoops isn't hard. It is concerning that his shot looks this bad early on. Mental or mechanical? Maybe both.

But he made a three pointer!!!!





[Note: Sure, it was banked in accidentally... but let's ignore that.]

[AbeVigodaLive]

Giannis air-balled two consecutive free throws last night, the 2nd worse than the first. I would have thought free throw shooting would have been his highest priority during the offseason.

I saw that after I made my post. Yikes.

Giannis is at 55% right now... small sample size obviously. Even though he's been relatively decent in recent years (between 73 - 77%)... I guess it could be seen as a potential flaw to his game. And a regression (Duncan, Westbrook, Howard, et al) is not impossible.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Giannis air-balled two consecutive free throws last night, the 2nd worse than the first. I would have thought free throw shooting would have been his highest priority during the offseason.

I saw that after I made my post. Yikes.

Giannis is at 55% right now... small sample size obviously. Even though he's been relatively decent in recent years (between 73 - 77%)... I guess it could be seen as a potential flaw to his game. And a regression (Duncan, Westbrook, Howard, et al) is not impossible.

I'm not saying that this is the case with Giannis, but I have seen many times where guys are respectable free throw shooters prior to them adding considerably more muscle mass and then their shooting takes a dive. Again, not saying that that's the explanation here, though I do find that to be more than a coincidence.

[Coolbreeze44]

Giannis air-balled two consecutive free throws last night, the 2nd worse than the first. I would have thought free throw shooting would have been his highest priority during the offseason.

I saw that after I made my post. Yikes.

Giannis is at 55% right now... small sample size obviously. Even though he's been relatively decent in recent years (between 73 - 77%)... I guess it could be seen as a potential flaw to his game. And a regression (Duncan, Westbrook, Howard, et al) is not impossible.

I'm not saying that this is the case with Giannis, but I have seen many times where guys are respectable free throw shooters prior to them adding considerably more muscle mass and then their shooting takes a dive. Again, not saying that that's the explanation here, though I do find that to be more than a coincidence.

I think the added muscle could be a factor, but I also believe that his stroke is too long for foul shots. I see too much arm motion and not enough wrist.

The other think I'm noticing is that teams are walling up like Toronto did in the playoffs last year. He can't get to the basket as easy as before. But he does draw a crowd, and if his teammates can knock down the three consistently they will be alright. However, he may have to develop some game with his back to the basket so he can receive the ball down low. Teams have adjusted and now it is up to him to counter.

[apollotsg [enjin:6592798]]

So what I am reading is, Culver is our new Wiggins like punching bag...after 4 whole games

[TAFKASP]

So what I am reading is, Culver is our new Wiggins like punching bag...after 4 whole games

I know Wiggins, and Culver is no Wiggins... at least until he signs an unearned max contract.

[apollotsg [enjin:6592798]]

All I am saying is, Okogie looked pretty rough last year - yikes. This preseason he looked exactly the same - but somehow - at least in the first 3 games - he has played so much better - He clearly has some mental things going on that need to be sorted - but he has shown in college, and somewhat in the preseason that he belongs in the NBA. He is the opposite of Okogie as far as this season goes, in the preseason he might not have lite the place up but he looked competent. Right now he looks like he needs a stint in the g-league to dominate and get his footing - but there is a stigma attached to the g-league still so I am not sure that is the answer either.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Kat and embiid both received 2 game suspensions.

3-3, after ther first 6 games is still a lot better than anyone would have guessed due to a road heavy start to the season.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Culver has been below average through his first 3 games. That means he's terrible and he'll never be good.