Kansas Crimson

I am a little nervous for Philly. Embiid has torn or strained ligaments in his right thumb. And Toronto has picked up their defense. Gary Trent Jr being back is providing some scoring punch.

We are so blowing a 3-0 series lead, sigh.

BasketballJayhawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:41 am I am a little nervous for Philly. Embiid has torn or strained ligaments in his right thumb. And Toronto has picked up their defense. Gary Trent Jr being back is providing some scoring punch.

Their (the 76ers) head coach doesn't help them (the 76ers).

The TWolves coach may be the worst in the entire NBA.

Down 1 with the ball and no play is ran just Deangelo with a prayer that doesn't draw iron. 1st and 2nd best players don't even get a touch.

And then they run a play and get the ball to Edwards who ties the game LOL

And Ja with the game winner.

Fun game. Memphis closed on like a 30 to 10 run.

Said it before, will say it again. Ja is the most Kobeesque player in the NBA.

Game winner...

For those of you who are fans of The Office - and not fans of the Nets.....

I am not sure I see much Kobe in Ja (at least not yet), but no doubt he's exciting...he did have a really bad turnover late when they were up 1 with about a minute to go, but minnesota bailed him out by running nothing and Deangelo clanking a forced prayer off the backboard instead of getting the ball to Anthony Edwards or KAT.

I see it Gutter.
Kobe wasn’t a great shooter until midway through his ( long ) career.

Age 22:
27.7, 5.7, 6.7, 49.3%, 34.4 3%
28.5, 5.9, 5, 46.4%, 30.5 3%

Lol for Zion over Morant.

pdub wrote: ↑Wed Apr 27, 2022 6:55 pm I see it Gutter.
Kobe wasn’t a great shooter until midway through his ( long ) career.

Age 22:
27.7, 5.7, 6.7, 49.3%, 34.4 3%
28.5, 5.9, 5, 46.4%, 30.5 3%

Lol for Zion over Morant.

Zion is still an unknown. When he played, he put up insane numbers.

Embiid's first few years were filled with injuries and now he's a top 3 or 4 player in the world. So I don't think people should give up on Zion yet. But his work ethic is a huge unknown. Embiid has insane work ethic and drive to improve.

I don't think Zion has Embiid type ceiling (which is best player in the world ceiling), but he has top 10 player in the world ceiling.

I said it before the draft and am sticking with it - Ja Morant is gonna have a better career than Zion.

My thing with Zion is that his game is built on explosiveness. Being 6'7" and 400 pounds doesn't support that, and he has yet to do anything to support he can, or even will, change that. What has Blake Griffin done since his legs went to shit? Zion is just 10 years ahead of that curve.

Totally agree.

But in Zion's 2nd year he averaged more points than Blake ever has in a season for his entire career.

Blake has obviously fallen way off due to injuries, but he's also developed a 3pt shot to try to adjust to less athletic ability. In 2018-2019 Blake averaged 24.5pts with a 50.6%efg and was an all star...that was after his athletic ability had began to decline.

Eventually, like Blake, Zion will have to score outside the paint if he is going to have a long career. Or he's going to have to play center.

I don't know what Zion's deal is. Maybe like Embiid they just want to take it very slow? Or maybe he's lazy as fuck? Time will tell. Several years in and he's only played 85 games.

Embiid only played 31 games his first 3 years. And only 94 games thru 4 years.

There is time for Zion. But he has to work to improve while he is being patient with the health of his body, like Embiid did.

Middleton is gonna miss the Celts series.
That's tough for the Bucks.

That's where my doubt that Zion is willing to change his style of play, or even the way in which he takes care of his body, comes in. While Embiid was hurt, I don't recall him keeping set backs from the staff and ghosting the team in general.

You can see Embiid's competitive fire when he talks about being MVP. He's legitimately pissed he hasn't won it yet. Zion comes off as more of a Ben Simmons when it comes to competitiveness.

Feels more like a Wiggins type that people think he's fine getting by just by God given athletic ability and there are questions around his motivation. Difference there is Zion's body doesn't allow for what he seems to be taking for granted.

pdub wrote: ↑Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:28 am Middleton is gonna miss the Celts series.
That's tough for the Bucks.

Boston 5pt favorites game 1.

I'm curious to see if they put Tatum at Giannis for stretches.
Tatum has upped his defense this season.
It'll likely be a lot of Horford.

pdub wrote: ↑Thu Apr 28, 2022 11:43 am I'm curious to see if they put Tatum at Giannis for stretches.
Tatum has upped his defense this season.
It'll likely be a lot of Horford.

I am guessing Horford and Theis primarily. Maybe even Smart in certain situations. Tatum is capable too...but I wouldn't want him getting any cheap fouls. Especially now that they are heavy favorites.

About Zion: He has Sherron's appetite and it will truncate his longevity.