He does more than give assists. I’m not going to go back and forth about this. I’m at work, but Dlo rookie year never ranked near the top for all guards in blocks, never looked to be a better defender than expected, youngest player to get a triple double, etc, etc... A week or two back Ball ranked: “5th in rebounds 6th in assists 16th in steals 3rd in blocks among ALL NBA guards (which for some reason includes LeBron“ So he’s doing some things that look very promising despite the shooting.
from the way he was hyped, he shouldnt have lines like last night, which we get more often then the triple double now
He's getting encouraged to keep shooting himself out of this "slump". But I agree that he shouldn't just toss up 3s all day long and instead work on his dribble drive, floaters and transition pull up J game. As stated by others, I think its a combination of being a rookie and health (does not have a NBA body and look at his recent bouts with the calf in Summer League and presently coming off the Houston game). But the most important factor that separates him from guys like DLo is his attitude. Don't get me wrong...sometimes his personality may rub some people the wrong way (like yours truly) cause it seems like he's aloof, indifferent and "too cool for school"...but then you pair that mentality with how he was more concerned with Ws rather than personal glory (ie youngest triple double ever), then that's a huge difference when compared to Mr. "Ice in his veins". If Zo had Lavar's mentality and mouth, people would be tearing him apart right now...being a rookie and injury be damned, no one will support that type of attitude and not backing it up on the court. He just turned 20, has the right attitude and actually does play great team ball (the right way). So if you bring in stars next year, they will love playing with the guy and make him look so much better than he currently looks. Not to mention, stars would rather put up with his personality, than someone boisterous and unfiltered like Embiid (ie Lavar incarnate). These are growing pains, nothing more, nothing less. However, dude needs to hit the gym this summer and absolutely needs to work on his shot. No excuses....and if he comes back the same next year, even after we added star talent...then the criticism will flow heavy...rightfully so!
That wasn’t the topic. You said: And I replied about why fans are giving Ball more of a pass right now. If you want to argue about his hype vs production that’s another topic.
Favorite part of this was Bogut making a b-line for Murray. Hope if something like this happens to someone else, Ball will have their back too.
The tightness is most likely due to overuse. This is a lot more work than most of these kids have ever experienced.
Bah! They're young. 35-40 minutes a game he needs. Sure he's skinny but the guard position is not physical nor when he rebounds and drives the key. Read that somewhere here.
he was hyped to make the game n offense easier for all, i can live with bad shooting but im not seeing the making things easier consistently, last nite was disgraceful n people murdered dlo for stats lines like last nite
People tend to forget also that these kids are travelling constantly, stuck on a plane for hours, then they have to get up and be ready to compete physically at the highest level, then get back on that plane and go home. Your muscles tighten up. Especially when you're a weaker kid and especially when you're a tall person. It takes time to adjust to that lifestyle. It's not exactly an excuse, just a reality. More important than his body tightening up is Lonzo's brain. He's not playing a loose, Lonzo-esque game anymore. Now he's stressing and thinking and worrying too much. Diet of course will help him going forward, but it's not why his calves are tightening up I don't think.
When you're playing with 1 player barely shooting about 35% from deep, it's hard to find spacing for a player who thrives on it. Brolo is having a horrific shooting year, Nance doesn't provide much outside of anything within 3 ft of the basket. BI is coming along as a ISO threat, but after that, we don't have the personnel even Steve Nash couldn't make this team shoot better.
so how bout getting them easier looks under the basket? if all his passing is only beneficial if the jump shooter hits shots, how is that any different then rondo? his asst comes from players getting themselves open n he just passes it, doesnt take transcending passing abilities to do that
Well, when you're big man is playing 25 ft out, and there is zero spacing from any other player, how do you get easy buckets if the defense just clogs the paint?
Lopez at 3pt line takes opposing C out the paint already, that clears up enough n its not like he was racking up monster asst #s when kuzma was starting
It could certainly help explain why he's not taking it to the rack now like earlier. That takes explosiveness and it's your calves a lot.
when i suggested at draft time that ball's game in the pros might be different because he wouldn't have 4 three point shooters on the floor at all times, people essentially told me to stfu. and steve nash's shooting is part of what made non-shooters like amare and marion into big scorers, not vice versa. i agree with khmer that there's much more charity extended to ball here than russell got--though russell did get some leeway this early as well. i'm certainly not on the "bust" train, but you're an ostrich if you're not concerned with some of what's happening here. lots of promising stuff, but maybe equal amounts of scary stuff. it's ok to admit it.
What ..... are you going to believe your lyin' eyes over what LaVar is telling you about how good Lonzo is with that super special shooting motion he taught him?
@abeer3 will you stfu about DLoser already? Haha. Seriously, I do agree with you bro on Zo. I couldn't take keeping my head in the sand any longer. Zo's broken. People think its all in his head. I think he's way too heady to have it be that. He's got alot on his plate right now....from Lavar hyping him up into this current anticipointment stage, to his brothers possibly being "deported" by El Jefe. Yet you wouldn't know it the way he carries himself...but his consistency issues on the court, yikes! And I really do think its predicated on his jumper. The coaches are telling him to shoot himself out of his funk, but like his play, there's no consistency on his jumper dynamics, other than its consistently ugly coming out of his hands and coming off of the iron. He's forcing up shots just cause and you can tell its not what he wants to do. Again, some of these looks are wide open, but still he's facing close outs against more athletic guys in the NBA compared to what he saw in college and in summer league. Also, he has to body up against bigger stronger guys for longer minutes than he faced in college and SL and that can be taxing on a guy that clearly doesn't have a NBA body yet. He absolutely needs to revisit his shooting in the offseason. Its broken and has no sustainability in this league. Also he definitely is a gifted passer, however I do think some of his passes are unnecessary. I would like to see him hold onto the ball and bring it up court and then set up the offense, but then I'm thinking the coaches are preaching positionless basketball (Jules and BI can bring it up court) and making the game uptempo (we're currently #1 in the NBA in PACE), so if he boards it, its out and he may not get it back even if he crosses half court. So although alot of his passes are not set-up types (ie creating easy ops for his teammates), he does make his teammates better because they all want to look for that extra pass to the open man (15th in assisted 2pt makes and 6th in assisted 3pt makes), and sharing the ball is good basketball afterall. This will only improve the more talent we get on the court around him, cause most of these assists will lead to more made baskets (ie currently 22nd in assist %age). All that being said, the #1 thing that allows the fan base to have patience with Zo, is his attitude. Dude wants to be a team player and is not interested in personal accolades, but rather team wins. We all hoped that Russell was about that life...unfortunately its the wrong "life" he wanted.
