Just a beast! But as usual, needs to work on that jumper and definitely keep working on those free throws. Took a step backwards on the progress he made for free throws tonight. But he gained valuable experience shooting some in the clutch at least. Also, if he could finish with his right we may have won the game (that play where he tried to dunk with 2 hands but got fouled by Towns).
Man he was beasting the second he came off the bench tonight, great game. My only issues are the FT's (but at least he got to he hoop and got them), gotta keep working on those, and boxing out, little better defensive awareness. He's really a rookie though, he's only 22 games in, already looks so good.
You know we've been looking for that next dominant big man ever since Shaq really. Pau was terrific, but really only had a few seasons as a dominant big man. This kid though is gonna be that guy. I truly believe that. The ferocity, the athleticism, the constant high energy, the work ethic, his ability to see the court, explode in transition, good job taking advantage of mismatches, has some unconventional array of moves down there and can make them at tough angles and he's only gonna improve with experience. I have no idea how the hell he was the seventh pick because he looks like a guy who could end up being the best player in that draft outside of maybe Wiggins.
I think teams look too much at the draft combine numbers and "red flags" they come up with, start to outthink themselves, get clever or "cute" with picks. Wiggins and Parker were always going ahead of Randle, but nobody else should have, and it's our gain. I was hoping like hell he'd fall to us and couldn't believe he did, thought the C Bags would take him.
Off the top of my head, I honestly can't even remember who went ahead of him besides Wiggins and Parker.
I haven't had this much fun watching a Laker in years. I honestly look forward to seeing this kid play. And when he's beasting like this? Oh man, the future looks bright.
Yep Is Parker still in the league? What's going on with him ....never read anything. Still recovering? Randle is now bouncing NBA men off of him around the basket at the age of 20. Wait until he gets his man muscle .......Errrr ...... wait until he starts maturing physically as a Big man. Always takes them longer, right? :Headbang:
Parker's still having his minutes titrated back up, but he's looked okay...a little flabbier than I last saw him but that'll come with conditioning.
Russell gets 4 new pages and Julius is stuck on 40? What's up with ya'll? Julius is by far my favorite young player. Easily. I love his confidence, I love his poise, and I love how aggressive he plays. He's a young bull out there and he will not be stopped. For his issues with his height/arm length he does this tremendous job of firing the shot and then following it before anyone can recover from him throwing himself around. That online Basketball Breakdown guy compared Julius's power to Shaq a month ago and so many people laughed him off, but I've been saying that for a year now. Julius provides a unique physical profile that he uses to his advantage every night. He's not the kind of guy to beat you with a vertical leap, but you're going to leave this game bumped and bruised as he goes after every board and attacks you constantly off the dribble. Last night he showed a dream shake. I thought he traveled at first, but when I saw it again, it was a textbook dream shake he used except he went back to his left hand to finish where he should have gone right. Still though, this kid is 20 years old! He's got more than a decade left to perfect this stuff... Amazing.
I think it's because there's more mystery around what D'Angelo brings than what Julius can. We've known Julius was a bully ball monster, we just didn't know how it would translate to the NBA. So far, exceptional for someone his age and experience. Already racking up double-doubles. And his off the dribble attacking ability makes him so DYNAMIC, there's really only a handful of players his size can make. And that we got a steal in him with the 7th pick. D'Angelo was really a mystery up until the draft. So seeing his development and budding skills is something new for us, and of course, us trying find a justification for him being the 2nd pick over the likes of Okafor and Porzingis. Only one of which is making a case for himself.
You know, realdeal, I haven't said it out loud here, but since we got him I've thought the same thing - something about his size and quickness reminds me so much of Shaq. Yes, he plays a different position, but it's that uncanny strength coupled with agility and natural size (not roids like Lebronze/Howard). This kind of guy is incredibly rare to find. Agree with others, like I said, I've already started to expect this kind of game out of Randle, so the Russell game last night gets more notice because he hasn't played this aggressively before. Randle is seriously becoming a double double machine in what his is rookie season. He's unreal.
