DRAFT TALK Thread: Looking Like Lonzo

That's about as pessimistic as you can get on him though. UCLA had talent, no doubt, but that talent went nowhere last year. People were calling for Alford's job before Lonzo Ball showed up. This team without Lonzo Ball is okay, but they look just like every other UCLA team has the last few years. Two sides of the coin, it just depends which side you want to see.

 

Just watched this game too:


- For the first 3/4 of this game, this was one of the worst games I've seen Lonzo play. He was disengaged, made little impact on either end, and did not display strong body language. The Oregon Ducks really did not let him get going and Lonzo played into that. He had a couple early turnovers that were D'Angelo Russell-esque. He looked lost out there most of the time. He had something like 6-7 rebounds in that stretch, was 1-5 from deep, and had just one assist.

- For the last 1/4 of the game this was one of Lonzo's best performances. He matched up with a blazing hot Dillon Brooks (Former Pac-12 POY) and completely shut him down. Dillon Brooks never scored a single shot on Ball and didn't get to the line either. Lonzo shut him down in what was probably the best defensive performance I've ever seen from him. Not only did Lonzo shut down Brooks, but he also began to take over on the other end of the floor. He started driving effectively, hit a couple shots, and made a stronger impact on the glass as well. He hit two massive shots in the 4th quarter to cinch the win: a drive past Dylan Ennis (brother of Tyler Ennis) and a long, long three over the top of Ennis. It was quite a showing and quite a turnaround from where he was most of the game. If you want to see when this starts, fast forward the video to somewhere between the 10-11 minute mark of the 2nd half.

- Dillon Brooks is a feisty player. He reminds me of Draymond Green: lots of fire and heart and multi-skilled. Brooks is a big, thick player, but not especially tall. He's got that "win at all costs" mentality and can be found mixing it up all over the floor. He also is famous as the owner of the worst flop of all time. Whenever he enters the draft, he'll be a name to watch for.

- Jordan Bell was a monster in this game. He outworked Anigbogu, Leaf, and Welsh with regularity on the offensive glass. He defended the rim. He attacked aggressively. He also showed some of the same question marks that came up in the NCAA tournament: is he big enough? He seems like he just might not be big enough to play his game in the NBA. He is probably more of a PF, but without a great jumper he's going to struggle to find a spot. He reminds me of a Ronny Turiaf maybe.

- Tyler Dorsey was fantastic. He looks like a nice bench player in the NBA. I don't know what he can do in the NBA, we'll see. He seems like a strong D-Fenders candidate that can move up into the NBA if/when he proves he can score at the next level. I saw some people comparing him to Jordan Clarkson, I don't think Dorsey is as athletic as Jordan.

- Anigbogu and Leaf did nothing to change my impression of them. They'll be NBA players. If Leaf can show NBA range, he could try to be Ryan Anderson (he's a little smaller than Anderson). If not, I think Leaf looks a lot like Nick Collison and yes I realize both comparisons are white, but he looks like them. Channing Frye is a name I've seen too, but Frye is bigger than Leaf. Anigbogu could be the next Biyombo type: big athletic guy who sets strong screens and blocks shots.

 

There you go. That's all his pick and roll possessions. There were more screens and passes and whatnot, but these were the only ones that were full pick and roll possessions.

 

Daaamn.

BTW, NBA Draft.net's weaknesses include:
.. On the defensive side of the court, Ball is adept at forcing turnovers, but he does not have the overall impact that his physical tools would suggest ... Ball struggles at times containing dribble penetration against quicker guards, which was particularly exposed against De’Aaron Fox, who exploded for 39 points against him in the NCAA Tournament ... Ball also does not have great awareness when being screened, and he also could show more consistent effort to fight through screens and recover ... Ball is an intriguing prospect, but his weaknesses are well documented, and he will need to be surrounded by the right personnel to achieve optimal success ...

Draft Express: Creating in half court, casual at time, streaky shooter, defensive physicality.

Defense has to be on the list.

 

True that.

 

I think Russell and Ingram have both shown an ability to be those iso guys. Randle in certain matchups as well. Ball is not likely to be that guy. Then again no one but Tatum of the high level draft picks really projects as a great iso scorer. Fultz obviously but he's going 1st so we won't get a shot at him.