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TheOriginalOriginal wrote:Example, look at Bradley Beal now, he was shooting low 40s his first few years too. People get better with maturity and work, I dont see a reason Booker wont.

Me either, but we can't just write it in as a done deal either. I choose to remain optimistic.

TheOriginalOriginal wrote:

carey wrote:

In2ition wrote:Well, I don't think we need to worry about Booker becoming Tyreke Evans, IMO. I definitely think he will keep improving, hopefully his ballhandling if I'm going to critique him at this stage.

Right. His ball handling is fairly advanced for a SG with his size in my opinion. He is a willing passer that is better than I expected. He's shooting percentages aren't as good as I think he's capable of, but I expect them to rise when he makes the leap and we surround him with more talent.

Example, look at Bradley Beal now, he was shooting low 40s his first few years too. People get better with maturity and work, I dont see a reason Booker wont.

I agree

There is no 2-guard in this draft who comes close to Booker IMO. Don't see why we would want to form a glut at that position.

I think Monk could be a pretty special offensive player in this league. He's small though and i'm not sure if you could play him with Booker for long stretches.

Split T wrote:I think Monk could be a pretty special offensive player in this league. He's small though and i'm not sure if you could play him with Booker for long stretches.

Loved his TV show though.

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:There is no 2-guard in this draft who comes close to Booker IMO. Don't see why we would want to form a glut at that position.

Maybe not. Some people think Jackson could play some 2 guard. I think there are several that could play a good backup role. They say you can never have enough shooters.

Superbone wrote:

Split T wrote:I think Monk could be a pretty special offensive player in this league. He's small though and i'm not sure if you could play him with Booker for long stretches.

Loved his TV show though.

That show was a blessing. And a curse.

[youtube][/youtube]

If we miss out on the top 3(Fultz, Jackson, Ball IMO) I'm starting to think we should just take Ntilikina. He's a pg, but I think he'll be able to defend 1-3. I think you could even play a Ulis-Booker-Ntilikina lineup. He's great in the PNR and his shot has advanced quite well and I think he'd play well off the ball too. He's not explosive in the Bledsoe-Wall-Westbrook way, but he's a good enough athlete. Don't know a ton about him as it's hard to find footage and he's super young, but i'm intrigued.

Lonzo Ball is a great college player, but the ESPN circle jerk for him is getting on my nerves. I just saw a highlight on my phone where he makes a simple kickout pass and the headline was "Ball throws an absolute dime to Alford for three". Give me a break already. The play being a highlight in the first place is debateable.

Flagrant Fowl wrote:Lonzo Ball is a great college player, but the ESPN circle jerk for him is getting on my nerves. I just saw a highlight on my phone where he makes a simple kickout pass and the headline was "Ball throws an absolute dime to Alford for three". Give me a break already. The play being a highlight in the first place is debateable.

That seems silly. Simple plays shouldn't be highlighted and glorified.

In2ition wrote:

Flagrant Fowl wrote:Lonzo Ball is a great college player, but the ESPN circle jerk for him is getting on my nerves. I just saw a highlight on my phone where he makes a simple kickout pass and the headline was "Ball throws an absolute dime to Alford for three". Give me a break already. The play being a highlight in the first place is debateable.

That seems silly. Simple plays shouldn't be highlighted and glorified.

Maybe you just don't get it. It was an absolute dime.

Just to be clear, my gripe isn't with Ball himself. It's ESPN. But they've been doing this for years so I basically just did the sports equivalent of a sane person making a WTF comment after one of Trump's tweets.

So what do we all think of Ball's performance last night? He played 35 of 40 minutes and tallied just 8 points & 6 rebounds. Are we blaming it on the thumb?

Trier and Markkanen look like legitimate NBA players. I don't know that Trier will be able to shoot and defend like that at the next level but that's his ticket in. There will be a lot of teams after Markkanen. If we find ourselves out of the top 5 it might be wise to ransom him to a team for multiple picks or players.

Markkanen was great last night, honestly looked good enough that I would take him if the Suns fall in the lottery. UCLA didn't look right, and I'm sure Lonzo's thumb was effecting it. Oh well, they get some more rest going into the tournament.

carey wrote:So what do we all think of Ball's performance last night? He played 35 of 40 minutes and tallied just 8 points & 6 rebounds. Are we blaming it on the thumb?

Trier and Markkanen look like legitimate NBA players. I don't know that Trier will be able to shoot and defend like that at the next level but that's his ticket in. There will be a lot of teams after Markkanen. If we find ourselves out of the top 5 it might be wise to ransom him to a team for multiple picks or players.

I was not impressed with Ball at all. He didn't do anything before he got "injured" either. I don't like his dad either. PASS. Markkanen looked like the real deal last night

Surely Marky Mark must do better than the 1-5, 4 point and 3 rebound effort he put up against Oregon's front court last time if the Cats want to win the conference tournament.

Edit: http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=1-18886773

Well, fuck. This one is now in the bag for the Cats.

specialsauce wrote:

carey wrote:So what do we all think of Ball's performance last night? He played 35 of 40 minutes and tallied just 8 points & 6 rebounds. Are we blaming it on the thumb?

Trier and Markkanen look like legitimate NBA players. I don't know that Trier will be able to shoot and defend like that at the next level but that's his ticket in. There will be a lot of teams after Markkanen. If we find ourselves out of the top 5 it might be wise to ransom him to a team for multiple picks or players.

I was not impressed with Ball at all. He didn't do anything before he got "injured" either. I don't like his dad either. PASS. Markkanen looked like the real deal last night

Don't let one game taint your opinion, he's been the best player in college basketball all year. And as far as the dad, I love his confidence in his kids and the bravado. They haven't and probably won't shrink under pressure. I don't think it hurt the Williams sisters or Tiger Woods.

I don't know if I have a bias against U of A players because we see them more, but I'm not very sold on Markkanen. He seems to me like a guy whose skills won't translate well to the NBA. I know the sweet shooting big man is a hot commodity right now, but I watch him play and I see him getting shut down and not being able to produce in the same way with an NBA 3-point line and NBA defenses on him every night.

But I am famously always wrong about college hoops, so my opinions are not worth much.

I don't think he's Dirk, but hard to believe markkanen isn't at least Ryan Anderson in the NBA. I think the NBA will actually help him, he'll have better teammates that draw the defense away and he'll get a lot of great looks from 3.

He may look overmatched when the d locks in on him, but I don't think we'll see that much in the NBA. Not likely he'll ever be the number 1 option on offense in the NBA.

In2ition wrote:

specialsauce wrote:

carey wrote:So what do we all think of Ball's performance last night? He played 35 of 40 minutes and tallied just 8 points & 6 rebounds. Are we blaming it on the thumb?

Trier and Markkanen look like legitimate NBA players. I don't know that Trier will be able to shoot and defend like that at the next level but that's his ticket in. There will be a lot of teams after Markkanen. If we find ourselves out of the top 5 it might be wise to ransom him to a team for multiple picks or players.

I was not impressed with Ball at all. He didn't do anything before he got "injured" either. I don't like his dad either. PASS. Markkanen looked like the real deal last night

Don't let one game taint your opinion, he's been the best player in college basketball all year. And as far as the dad, I love his confidence in his kids and the bravado. They haven't and probably won't shrink under pressure. I don't think it hurt the Williams sisters or Tiger Woods.

I think his dad is beyond bravado. And I think even if by some miracle we get him, he bolts to the Lakers at some point and I'd rather not deal with that. I don't like the way his shot looks. Maybe I'm extra annoyed because Bill Walton was slobbering all over him the whole game and ESPN was CONSTANTLY mentioning how "injured" he was