I remember going to a Lakers home game back when we had Metta and Dwight and thinking Metta looked bigger than Dwight, just a little shorter. He wont have any problems with strength, so Metta reducing weight in his old age is probably the best thing he can do to better keep up with the NBA pace and younger players.
Definitely. He still looks strong, but in his last year with us he was just freaking enormous. Needlessly big for basketball... I like the slimmer looking Ron as an NBA player.
'So you take a 20-year old kid who feels great and thinks he’s invincible and one of the strongest people on the court and he knows that. He knows that he’s strong. When he wants to move somebody, he just moves him. Then you have me telling him, ‘You are not as strong as you think you are.’ Not in the sense that he can’t move people. But his structures need to be loaded in a way that we can bring him back without risking anything else happening to him.' http://www.insidesocal.com/lakers/2...-to-cautiously-monitor-julius-randles-return/ Found that little piece that Vitti had fascinating...20 years old and one of the strongest people on the court. LOL!. Good Q&A with Vitti about Randle's recovery for those interested...
By the way what Vitti means is what I've been freaking saying forever: jumping high, pushing hard, sprinting fast means nothing if you're doing it wrong. You put your body at risk when you try to be Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, or Derrick Rose. It's about moving right, no moving fast. Glad we have the crew we do training these guys. They know what they're doing.
Man Metta is looking like a mean lean machine. How f****** great for Julius to have to immediately learn to expand his offensive game and address its weaknesses. He has this great, skilled, physical, defensive savant right on his own team with a bond toward winning as many as possible games this year..... and mentoring guidance for him.
great stuff from worthy there--exactly what I was hoping to hear in terms of what he's trying to impart. Julius shouldn't have to use his strength so much on offense right now; he's quick enough to avoid a lot of contact. save that for the boards or bodying up big pfs on d. also on the hesitation: watching him at Kentucky and in SL, it's like he wanted the defense in position and waiting for him. he was still talented enough to make things happen in those situations, but it's a huge and unnecessary energy drain to do so. shoot it on the catch if you're open. eventually, they'll scramble and you can blow by and use your physicality to finish. really hope to see some of these things in action in the preseason.
Stuff like this is why I tell my less enthusiastic buddies why they shouldn't sleep on this kid. Can't wait to say "I told ya so!"
For some reason Randle made me think of a battering ram today, or rams headbutting each other in the wild, and then this happened.... I imagine your face looks kind of like his right now.....
This is good stuff, abeer. The one thing I'm glad Artest is on board for, and by all accounts, he's teaching Randle as well.
I think having Worthy there as a mentor for Randle will really help his development, even moreso than Kobe imo. Partly because Big Game played most of his game around the mid range using his athleticism, which Julius will be doing probably. I can't believe I never really put the two together, other than the fact that Julius, like Worthy mentioned, is just so strong. But, his real gift is, as James pointed out again, is his deceptive speed. He'll probably be able to maneuver around most defenders with ease, however, he'll need that control and footwork that Worthy to really give him that edge. I love this going forward.
The comparisons just won't leave Julius Randle alone. Some say he's a trimmer Zach Randolph, others a stronger Lamar Odom, and there was another association Friday from James Worthy. "The next time you watch Julius Randle start the break, you'll see some old Charles Barkley stuff. Nobody wants to get in their way," said Worthy, recently hired as a Lakers' coaching consultant. The fascination with the second-year player is growing in the Lakers' organization. In four days of training camp, he's looked much better than the player who rushed everything in four NBA summer-league games in July, where his accuracy cratered at 39.5%. Randle has worked on his outside touch and become more confident when he gets an open look. He's also rediscovered a quick first step from the post. "He's just so much more explosive now," Lakers Coach Byron Scott said. "I think he can be a star. His first step is about as quick as any power forward in this league right now. It's just about developing the rest of his game." This is something Worthy would know. "My first step was a good spin move but his is from the triple-threat position. He does a good jab step," he said. "He almost always gets the edge on his first step and that's all you want to do." Randle has been given the green light by Scott to push the ball after taking a defensive rebound, a responsibility he gladly dives into whenever possible. "He has a chip on his shoulder," said a person observing his game at closed Lakers practices this week. It's not because Randle's angry at anyone in particular. He feels cheated because he played only 14 minutes as a rookie before sustaining a broken leg. The main criticism of Randle is the need to slow down. He's continually in fifth gear when he dribbles the ball after a rebound, Worthy said. "Somewhere after you pass half court, you should be able to tell if there's an opening or if you can go all the way to the cup. He always thinks he should get to the cup," Worthy said. "But meanwhile, he's coming so fast he can't see that the defense is collapsed. If he can get to the half-court line, maybe drop to third [gear] for a bit, let the defense clear up, he can go back to fifth at any time." http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-lakers-hawaii-20151003-story.html
This always being in fifth gear talk is exactly what Scott was saying about Clarkson last year (rookie) year and needing to just knowing when to use that speed. Randle will figure it out with more on court experience playing against other teams. He's really a rookie after all with playing experience but a 1 year vet when it comes to watching and dissecting the NBA game.
What's scary for opponents then like it was with Clarkson is when he "does" slow it down the right amount...... he's really going to start blowing by guys.
