loved seeing that stepback in the lane in the first half. he also made a really nice drop step move (but blew the bunny, as is his troubling habit). still--good to see a little more patience in the post on that move. he didn't have gaudy rebounding numbers, but more of his boards were of the contested variety in this one. some games, he just kind of chases down balls that any laker can grab because the opposition is already in retreat.
I wonder after a game like that by Julius against THEM if Boston ever has any 2nd thoughts over taking Marcus Smart instead of Randle? :Headbang:
Julius really has had a tremendous rookie year. He had that really bad stretch in January shooting the ball similar to what D'Angelo is going through right now. Since then he has been monstrous. He's basically been averaging a double double the entire year which is awfully impressive for a 21 year old. He is just so relentless on those boards. Love that Julius has not shied away in big moments. That game winner against Miami was a thing of beauty. Had Deng thinking he was gonna try to pull up or drive right by in a straight line and made a beautiful spin to get away. He's so hard to stop in transition. His ability to handle and he's so quick and athletic for a man of his strength. His only issue has been at times being out of control and waiting to long to make a decision. He's starting to hold the ball less and less. There are still stretches where Julius he does hold the ball too long, but it's great progress from where he was earlier in the season. He's learning how to draw defenses and kick. Establishes good position down low. I think his man defense has improved as well. Still has some lapses of help defense, but again part of that is just not knowing where to be due to a lack of experience and a lack of a coach who teaches his players where to be on the floor in the defensive scheme. I think the C Bags are idiots for passing on this guy. The way he's developing right now and with his progress in a few years he could've been the difference from making them a treadmill team to possibly an Eastern Conference Champion. That's how good I think he's gonna be. People talk about what he can't do right now. I say to them most rookie bigs are unpolished. You have your Tim Duncan's of the world and everyone else usually. What he can do really well already is rebound, attack off the dribble, when he wants to be a good playmaker, bully guys down low on the block, push the ball, finish on the break, he already has a couple of nice moves down there especially that fadeaway, his spin move, he's not rushing as much on his way to the bucket which is resulting in less traffic, and his activity is off the charts. That's a lot of good things for a rookie power forward.
I have a hunch with Julius it's going to be like what DAR says is the case with his game to come. We haven't seen anything yet. That coast to coast as you say was tremendous but I was struck with his speed and acceleration to go with all that strength. As his handles continue to improve and he gains confidence, changes pace and direction more, like Clarkson.... look the hell out. Barkley in his dreams was not that athletic and skilled and powerful in the open court. Randle will be stronger in his prime and with that similar mass and the greater speed, can you imagine? We've already seen Chuck's prime. Really really hope they sign Kobe to whatever contract he wants to be a player development executive, hands on, with whatever schedule he can give it when the Lakers are home. I remember Kobe saying expressly like 3-4 months ago in one answer that he wanted to remain in some capacity with the team.
What can you say really? The kid is a beast. He's got all the potential you could ask of a 7th pick in the draft. He needs some real work on defensive spacing, timing, and just general knowledge. He's either out of position to help defensively or he's in position but doesn't have the timing to make a play. He's just GOT to work on that end of the floor this summer. A good coach will help. Offensively his development has been refreshing. All things considered, he's slowed his game down on that end and has been far more effective. In the month of March he averaged 12.9 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals in 30.2 minutes per game while shooting 47.9% from the field. For a rookie? Those are tremendous numbers. This is my guy from the young cast. I hope after the summer dust has settled he's still a Laker. You can't teach hard work and character and I think Julius has both of those in spades as well as great talent.
I think one of the toughest things for this fan base is the patience aspect. We see how talented these kids are especially Julius and D'Angelo and we want them to just instantly dominate and take over games and lead us to victories. We haven't really been in a position other than when we had Bynum where we had to develop young talent. It's just not something we're accustomed too, but as the season goes on I think we realize these two aren't half the players they're gonna be and that's exciting. The fact we expect so much of them at this stage really just shows how good they're gonna be. Even though I wouldn't have a problem trading the #1 or 2 pick for a proven star pairing said player with Julius and D'Lo is not a bad alternative. Can't forget JC or Larry. Those two at worst are gonna be excellent complimentary players. All these highs and lows with these young players is just not something we're used too. We've been watching Kobe just obilerate and destroy everyone in his path and now we have to play the waiting game with these guys. It's frustrating, but ultimately it'll pay off because these two are gonna be special. They're gonna lead this team back to the promise land. I fully believe that.
Rook bigs aren't usually much to see for at least a few years, that in mind the fact that JR is so good in a few areas like boarding and getting to the hoop is very promising. He will probably never get a full set of big skills a'la Tim Duncan and if he did his size would keep him from complimenting them perfectly but I believe JR will work hard for it. He has a lot more speed than a standard big anyways. After a lot of abuse about going to his right, he started making a lot of progress in that area and goes there often now so I personally like his willingness to work hard on his game. Fully expect to see some surprises from him come start of the season.
it does take time. it hurts randle that KAT is already a force, I think. my lowside fear for randle was Thomas robinson, but I think he's already past that.
Julius is absolutely better than Thomas Robinson. I like Thomas, but he's at best a hustle big off the bench. Julius is at least a starter in the NBA and he's got potential for much more than that. Also, I'm not sure Towns' effectiveness a) means much in regards to Julius and b) is so head and shoulders above Julius as to make Julius less impressive. Now admittedly Towns' numbers are more gaudy at first blush, but Julius isn't so far behind. First of all, Towns has played over 300 more minutes and taken 278 more shots. Julius is the 4th option on this awful team somehow taking less FGs than Kobe, Jordan, and D'Angelo. Heck he's just 0.2 FGas per game more than Lou Williams. Towns is the undoubted second option in Minnesota. Don't get me wrong, Towns is a better player, but he's also a different position on the floor as well with a lot more responsibility than has been given to Julius thus far. Julius is rebounding at a similar rate (19.5%) compared to Towns (19%). For all of Towns' passing ability (which is very good) he has only 22 more assists than Julius in 300 more minutes. Julius' assist percentage (10.5%) is close to Towns' (11.2%). Their steal percentage is exactly the same at 1.1%; Julius has 48 on the year and Towns' has 55 on the year. The areas where Towns completely separates from Julius is his FG% (Towns is at 54.4% and Julius at 43.7%) and his ability to block shots (Towns at 1.7 per game and 130 total while Julius is at 0.4 with just 27 on the year), but we already knew that was a thing and his size is an obvious factor. Again, I'm not saying Julius is better but I think it's shortchanging Julius to think he's not in the conversation from the last two draft classes.
^^ Towns looks and plays like a number one pick. He's great. But Julius looks and plays a lot better IMO than the number 7 pick of his draft. We were very lucky he fell to us and he's been just terrific. I'm just glad he did.
randle's a really good first year player, but you can throw all the numbers in the world at me, and I'm taking towns 11 out of 10 times without hesitation. he looks like a perennial all-nba player. just not close, imo. now, if you want to debate porzingis/randle, it starts to get interesting.
Just wanted to remind everyone that Randle is only 21. And, by the way, Russell is a full 1.5 years younger than Randle. Perspective, y'all.
Towns is better right now. He's better than everyone in his class by a good margin, but I think everyone knew that going in. He was gonna be a beast right from the get go. He was more polished and more developed and matured compared to the rest of the guys. Now how much better will he get? That reminds to be seen and guys like Randle, Russell, Porzingis still have time to catch up. It'll just take a few years.
A.Davis and KAT have a legitimate shot at becoming a GOAT power forward. They are extremely versatile with no real weaknesses. Julius' ceiling isn't as high, but he's the type of player that everyone wants on their team.
Like I said I'm not debating who is better. I admitted that Towns is better. I'm saying the gap is not what you're saying is is. Randle has been putting up numbers that most people are either not cognizant of or are underestimating. I know you're not a Randle fan, but the kid is doing great things and that really can't and shouldn't be denied. It especially shouldn't be denied to compare Randle to a player that plays a different position, had different responsibilities, and vastly different situations they're playing in. Not to mention different expectations that apply to both players.
Towns is terrific, but greatest power forward ever? I don't see that. That would make him better than Tim Duncan. A top ten player of all time. I don't see anyway he reaches that level. Duncan came in and immediately made a monstrous impact and turned the Spurs into a contender. They were in the Finals by his second year. Minnesota probably still won't make the playoffs for a couple of more years. Towns may not have a weakness, but his strengths aren't at the level of a Duncan. One of the most possibly the most fundamentally and skilled player at his position of all time. An incredible, versatile defender for most of his career. Also his passing and playmaking is very underrated. Davis could be an all time great, but dude cannot stay healthy.
