Good, Bad, Ugly

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I'm not sure on Bazz. One of the criticisms over the past couple years has been his led feet defensively. He did not move laterally well at all in his first two years.

What I have noticed defensively in pre-season in his limited minutes is that he is giving all out effort (the good) and appears to be moving well (also good). But he still has awareness problems, where he'll get caught ball watching and his guy goes back door for an easy layup. Or sometimes he'll unnecessarily sag off his guy to help (where none is really needed), only to get burned by an open 3-pointer.

So I'm not really sure yet whether his current weight is a problem or an asset. One thing I do know is that wild swings in weight can't be healthy. He was something like 260 early in the offseason and he lost nearly 40 lbs. That can't be good for the body.

I'm never sure how much Bazz weighs or doesn't weigh so I am going to wait a few more games to see what he does or doesn't do as a post guy. The thing I like the most out of him in the preseason is him letting that 3 ball fly.

I agree with the thoughts on his defense. He is giving the effort but he just isn't there mentally and at times he has gotten beat by quicker players. He has some good vet players like KG and Prince that should be able to help him out but really the key to the future of this team's defense may be Towns. Remember that Billups and Rip were poor defenders before they went to Detroit. I am sure coaching was part of it but Inam sure Ben Wallace was a significant aspect of those guys being part of a god defensive team. I am not suggesting Towns will be that good but he looks to have legit potential to be a top defense anchoring big.

Yes, if Towns can eventually become a plus defender - and it may take a year or two - than I feel like we have defensive building blocks for the future in Towns, Wiggins, and Rubio.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I have to agree that Bjelica belongs in the "good" category, and based on the first four games, he belongs in the "terrific" category. First of all, he passes the eye test...he just looks like a basketball player out there. He plays under control with poise, but not without the proper amount of aggressiveness. He moves the ball well, and as I pointed out in our FIBA thread, his passes result in an unusually high number of "hockey assists"...a stat that doesn't show up in the box score. And here are his per 36 stats:

Points: 16.1
Rebounds: 9.5
Assists and steals: 1.8
Shooting: 52%
3-pointers: 57%
That is a heck of a start for a rookie adjusting to the NBA...looks very comfortable so far. I doubt there is any other team with three rookies playing at as high a level as Towns, Jones and Belly are so far. Let's hope they can keep it up, and our other young guys can pick it up a little.

[alexftbl8181 [enjin:6648741]]

I'm not sure on Bazz. One of the criticisms over the past couple years has been his led feet defensively. He did not move laterally well at all in his first two years.

What I have noticed defensively in pre-season in his limited minutes is that he is giving all out effort (the good) and appears to be moving well (also good). But he still has awareness problems, where he'll get caught ball watching and his guy goes back door for an easy layup. Or sometimes he'll unnecessarily sag off his guy to help (where none is really needed), only to get burned by an open 3-pointer.

So I'm not really sure yet whether his current weight is a problem or an asset. One thing I do know is that wild swings in weight can't be healthy. He was something like 260 early in the offseason and he lost nearly 40 lbs. That can't be good for the body.

I'm never sure how much Bazz weighs or doesn't weigh so I am going to wait a few more games to see what he does or doesn't do as a post guy. The thing I like the most out of him in the preseason is him letting that 3 ball fly.

I agree with the thoughts on his defense. He is giving the effort but he just isn't there mentally and at times he has gotten beat by quicker players. He has some good vet players like KG and Prince that should be able to help him out but really the key to the future of this team's defense may be Towns. Remember that Billups and Rip were poor defenders before they went to Detroit. I am sure coaching was part of it but Inam sure Ben Wallace was a significant aspect of those guys being part of a god defensive team. I am not suggesting Towns will be that good but he looks to have legit potential to be a top defense anchoring big.

I've never been a big believer in Shabazz as part of our future. He does pretty much one thing well, and that's posting up in that left box and scoring. I guess his offensive rebounds as well. If that's not falling though, he does nothing else to help the team. He can't defend, he can't pass, he can't space the floor, he can't even work in the flow in the offense.


I just don't see how he can ever be a guy who can play big minutes without being exposed.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I'm a Bazz fan, but I have to agree with the consensus here that he has been the biggest disappointment in pre-season...I was really looking for a big step forward, and we haven't seen that yet. Having said that, I continue to see Bazz's role as a big-time scorer off the bench, and I think he can fill that role well. Despite his injuries, he has scored over a point every 2 minutes in his first two years. And even though most of us have been disappointed in his play this pre-season, he has been close to that prolific pace. But Bazz needs to be score efficiently, and he has not been efficient in the first 4 games. 32% shooting and 55% from the line isn't going to cut it for a guy that doesn't bring much else other than scoring. I still think he is going to return to the efficient volume scorer he has been his first two years, along with improved defense, but we sure haven't seen that Bazz so far this year.

[Monster]

I have to agree that Bjelica belongs in the "good" category, and based on the first four games, he belongs in the "terrific" category. First of all, he passes the eye test...he just looks like a basketball player out there. He plays under control with poise, but not without the proper amount of aggressiveness. He moves the ball well, and as I pointed out in our FIBA thread, his passes result in an unusually high number of "hockey assists"...a stat that doesn't show up in the box score. And here are his per 36 stats:

Points: 16.1
Rebounds: 9.5
Assists and steals: 1.8
Shooting: 52%
3-pointers: 57%
That is a heck of a start for a rookie adjusting to the NBA...looks very comfortable so far. I doubt there is any other team with three rookies playing at as high a level as Towns, Jones and Belly are so far. Let's hope they can keep it up, and our other young guys can pick it up a little.

Nice post LST

It's only a few preseason games but here is what sticks out to me what it comes to Bjelica

1. Height length I thought he was gonna have nice size at PF but you always wonder a bit when guys come to the NBA how they will size up. Bjelica has stacked up very well in that regard he looks very long in the NBA game.

2. Outside shot. LST said Bjelica was frustrated with his shot when he was working on it at some mount but he must have gotten past that. He looks as good as I have seen him from there the NBA a 3point line certainly isn't a problem for him as far as comfort level. He has taken some beyond the line. I like that Mitchell is telling guys to take those open shots. That help Bjelica fire away and also he will find open guys too.

3. Bjelica has basically played the same game and shown the same stuff he did in Europe. That's pretty good all things considered.

It's probably good to have KG start and play Mins against the starters and be effective so Bjelica doesn't have to go against the top guys most of his minutes but if you told me he was our starter I would be happy with that. If KG wasn't here and Bjelica was the starter the worry would be the PF situation behind him.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I have to agree that Bjelica belongs in the "good" category, and based on the first four games, he belongs in the "terrific" category. First of all, he passes the eye test...he just looks like a basketball player out there. He plays under control with poise, but not without the proper amount of aggressiveness. He moves the ball well, and as I pointed out in our FIBA thread, his passes result in an unusually high number of "hockey assists"...a stat that doesn't show up in the box score. And here are his per 36 stats:

Points: 16.1
Rebounds: 9.5
Assists and steals: 1.8
Shooting: 52%
3-pointers: 57%
That is a heck of a start for a rookie adjusting to the NBA...looks very comfortable so far. I doubt there is any other team with three rookies playing at as high a level as Towns, Jones and Belly are so far. Let's hope they can keep it up, and our other young guys can pick it up a little.

I remember you argued pretty strongly against Bjelica's ability to rebound the ball based on the two (or however many) FIBA games you watched. It's only been a handful of preseason games thus far and I know you've said on the other thread that you haven't been able to watch many of the games (I've watched every one). Has your opinion on Bjelica's rebounding changed?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I have to agree that Bjelica belongs in the "good" category, and based on the first four games, he belongs in the "terrific" category. First of all, he passes the eye test...he just looks like a basketball player out there. He plays under control with poise, but not without the proper amount of aggressiveness. He moves the ball well, and as I pointed out in our FIBA thread, his passes result in an unusually high number of "hockey assists"...a stat that doesn't show up in the box score. And here are his per 36 stats:

Points: 16.1
Rebounds: 9.5
Assists and steals: 1.8
Shooting: 52%
3-pointers: 57%
That is a heck of a start for a rookie adjusting to the NBA...looks very comfortable so far. I doubt there is any other team with three rookies playing at as high a level as Towns, Jones and Belly are so far. Let's hope they can keep it up, and our other young guys can pick it up a little.

I remember you argued pretty strongly against Bjelica's ability to rebound the ball based on the two (or however many) FIBA games you watched. It's only been a handful of preseason games thus far and I know you've said on the other thread that you haven't been able to watch many of the games (I've watched every one). Has your opinion on Bjelica's rebounding changed?

Heh, I was going to point out the same thing Cam. Based on his Euro numbers, I was expecting Bjelly to be in the 8-10 per 36 minute range. He's on the high side of that right now, but even if he dips closer to 9 or 8 during the regular season, that's still fine for a PF off the bench.

[Coolbreeze44]

Looked at the schedule today and had a hard time believing it's still 12 days to opening night. No reason for the NBA to have such a long training camp / preseason. Three weeks and 5 games would be more than enough,

[Monster]

Looked at the schedule today and had a hard time believing it's still 12 days to opening night. No reason for the NBA to have such a long training camp / preseason. Three weeks and 5 games would be more than enough,

IMHO a month and 7 games seems pretty reasonable to me. Keep in mind these teams have to evaluate their talent and install all their systems etc. For a few teams like say the Spurs a week and a couple games shorter would be fine. For over half the league they need all the time they can get.

Also remember it takes a bit for officials to get back up to speed again. I can tell you from my experience it take a few games of any sport to be in mid season form as an official. Preseason is good for that and there have been pretty consistent rule changes or emphasis that they have had time to try and work though in preseason and it still takes a bit to get them worked out in the regular season. That's probably just one of a number of example of having some games that don't matter to get various people up to speed that we don't normally consider.

[Coolbreeze44]

Everybody comes to camp in shape. It's not like the old days where guys used to play their way into condition. Most teams know what their final roster will be except for a couple lower end guys. There really isn't that much internal competition for a majority of the league. The regular season is long enough, even if you don't make the playoffs. I honestly believe they could start playing regular games after two weeks.