I think his conditioning is alright. All those missed layups have everything to do with timing. He'll get it all back though. I just think, unfortunately, that until Ball gets a few more games under his belt Luke is going to start Rondo which I disagree with. Ball should be starting from Day 1 and that's not to say Rondo has had a bad pre-season.
Where have I seen this before? Oh yeah... Which was followed by this... And this... Prove you can start AND finish games strong.... #KiddGlovesOff
I'm impressed with what he actually did on the court last season and the positive signs of improvement on his lofty rookie season. Shot looked good, defense is elite, passing ability is still generational. But let's look at a couple clips from his first NBA game which was him at probably his lowest point all year. Insert eye roll here. The kid already earned it by outplaying Rondo resoundly while Rondo was actually playing pretty damn well. #healreadyearnedit #doublingdownonabadtakeisstillabadtake #iknowthesehashtagsaretoolongbutohwellimgoingtokeepgoingtoproveapointaboutprolongingabadtake
I'm impressed with your talent evaluation based off 2 college seasons (yep, the kid played till March last year and it was a wrap)...but I agree Zo has showed signs of something great on the horizon. But let's look at a couple preseason games where Zo "resoundedly" outplayed preseason Rondo to "earn" that starting gig, even at the heels of an offseason where recovery (from his knee) was the priority over reconditioning (that J & stamin-A). Insert bugged out eyes here. So I guess just anoint us champs the way we outran the dubs these last 2 "games", cause we earned it already. Speaking of game, not everybody has #hashswag. Insert tongue wag here. ...and insert sirron's Bron #DoBetter gif here.
I'm with you Omar...to be more specific, I'm team Lakers. They push each other to be better and we're the beneficiaries. Luke said it best, other than Bron being named a starter (by reputation and achievements alone), the rest of training camp is meant to drive competition for the starting lineup and closing games lineups. Absolutely no handouts. Let each guy earn it...especially the youngns with not even a full NBA calendar (ie postseason) to their name.
Plus to piggy back on that I would definitely not care who starts or comes off the bench, the good thing about luke who plays his starters and bench pretty equally as far as deserved minutes go. So even if Rondo starts I'm sure it's going to end with possibly both Rondo and Lonzo playing together (defensively) to shut down during crunch time. So I'm not worried about who starts, it's who finishes
Well Zo has no problem finishing...he's probably more concerned with where. (Zo's gf probably) Put a cap on, my guy.
I actually think it matters quite a bit. I’d prefer to see a Rondo with Zubac as a combo once everyone is healthy because Rondo drives in the paint and breaks defenses down. Zubac performs best with a penetrating guard. Without that, he just seems practically worthless. IT made him look super promising last year. Since ball isn’t really a penetrating guard #insertjokehere, Rondo will be a better fit with the 2nd unit if it includes Zubac IMHO
You really want to downplay his talent? Is that really the road you want to go down? I mean you're doubling down already on a bad take, so I wouldn't shocked if you want to go after his talent, but it's just such a mistake for your argument. Top 10 in assists per game for the NBA Top 10 in starting guards for DRtg Top 10 in steals per game for the NBA Top 10 in blocks per game for guards All with a sub 20 USG% Those are elite skills today not on the horizon. What's on the horizon is improved shooting numbers and efficiency around the basket. Crazy how he out-performed Rondo coming off of knee surgery and what you're describing as a second college season despite Lonzo being an elite guard in multiple categories against NBA players. Reaching. The one part of your argument that is 100% accurate. You're going to give this argument up soon I'm sure.
Wrong or responsible? Dude missed games due to a problematic knee last season. Played the most minutes on that '16/17 UCLA squad.... then needed to request another personal Lakers workout after a bad showing during the 1st one where he said he was "ill"....then missed some summer league action and the summer league championship game....followed by 30 missed games during his rookie campaign and healing during his Pelinka mandated "playoffs". You want him to start over Rondo off a 2 game preseason sample, with a roster overhaul of 8 new guys amidst Luke still finding a rotation.... I want him to finish games and a full NBA schedule...healthy, so that we can discuss playoff Zo vs playoff Rondo. If that's wrong, I don't wanna be right. And now lets get to the reaching....According to you, I'm reaching that we're 2-0 vs the dubs in the preseason so we're inevitable NBA champs...yet you mentioning Zo "resoundingly" beating out Rondo off a couple preseasoners and implying that dude has to start because of a tweet vid dunk contest where its 1 on none and he's the only participant...and that isn't reaching? With all that elite talent that you claim he has today, dude didn't even get a vote for rookie of the year. That's not a reach, its #facts. Speaking of which, where you getting your stats bro? Dude isn't top 10 among starting guards in Drtg last year....he's not even top 10 in the preseason. I'm not here to tear down the kid...but I do want proper development. He's coming off his 1st major injury as a pro and there's absolutely no reason to rush him into the starting lineup. Its reckless and irresponsible when you have a luxury like Rondo there. Let him heal up, re-develop chemistry with that 2nd unit, which most likely has him playing alongside Kuz and Hart (which is the core of our future starting lineup if and when BI gets dealt for AD) and let him earn his way back into extended minutes and playing the end of close games and into June....when it really counts! FYI...For the record, when fans were championining Jules as our best defender last year and took Luke's "you're the best defender in the league" a little to heart, I was part of the group that said, nah, the best defenders on our squad were Nance and Zo and the stats proved that it wasn't even close. #KeepinItRealirRealsponsible
