Aloha,
Just a few observations.
AD had a monster game. No one in the press asked him how his back was feeling but that would have been my first question. This was the first game that AD didn’t look like he was hurting. He wasn’t laboring up and down the court and I didn’t see him grab his back once. Hopefully he has turned the corner with his back issue. We need a lot more of this moving forward.
I must admit I was one of those that were disappointed that we gave Lonnie Walker our MLE. But like Malik and Austin the year before, Jesse Buss and the scouting department know what they are doing. He’s been solid with a couple of great games sprinkled in. His defense has been very good and his 3 point shooting is coming around. After a horrible start from 3 his lifted his percentage to 35% but he is over 50% for January. We definitely need more of this moving forward.
I love Austin. I had been hoping he would become more assertive on offense because he has a solid offensive game. And he has come through the last two games. He is not as athletic as Alex and not quite the defender Alex is yet but he is just as smart and he is improving. And like Alex he is beginning to evolve as a good secondary ball handler. His future is bright so Rob will probably let him walk for nothing.
Troy Brown has been solid. Score another one for Jesse. While he a not a starter on contender he could be a decent rotation guy off the bench.
If one doesn’t believe that our biggest need isn’t length on the wing, all you have to do is watch 6’ 1” ParBev guarding 6’ 11” KD to know we have a problem. Don’t get me wrong, I love PatBev. He has had both PG and KD working hard for everything they get and he’s a better defender than LeBron on the wing, but this is still a serious problem.
I’m looking forward to seeing what Dennis and Thomas Bryant can bring to the team. Reports are we might see them as early as Friday. I’m especially interested in Thomas. He had a good training camp and we can really use his size and skill set especially since Jones has been a disappointment so far.
For me the development of these secondary players is key. They need to continue grow to make any trade worthwhile because there isn’t a trade out there that changes anything unless these other guys are playing at a high level.
This brings up another point, who does Rob think he’s fooling with talk of landing a superstar in a trade. All the guys mentioned, KD, Levine and Beal are all under long term contracts. If any of these teams decide to tear it down, they can all do better then Russ and two distant firsts. The Nets over reached with their trade demands but even if they lower their expectations, they still can do better then our package. I think it’s all just a PR ploy to satisfy the fans while they evaluate what they have.
As Passion Pit sings, “Don’t get carried away, carried away.”
Aloha, Michael. Excellent takes.
This is the AD we need to see and have once LeBron retires. Davis may never be the alpha of the league like we once hoped but there is no question he is the player we still need to build around. Frankly, there are no big men who are injury risk free.
If the Lakers somehow screw this up and let Russ’ contract expire to keep the picks, they may have to chose between trading AD and trading LeBron in order to match any salaries. No question that the Lakers trade LeBron and keep Anthony Davis.
I feel exactly the same as you with respect to Lonnie. The two big changes in the game were Ham taking out Russ with 8:28 left and giving the ball to Lonnie to work with AD in the two-man game. Nobody was doubling AD to close this game as Lonnie was bombing away. Lakers bet on his athleticism and it’s paid off.
Austin has learned how to use quickness and footwork to get shots in the paint despite not having the athleticism of Lonnie. His defense has slipped a little but his effort is always inspirational. Yeah, Rob will probably trade him.
I agree one of the benefits we should have this season is a team that’s better late in the season rather than early. I think also the player development skills of the staff will have an impact. I was so happy when Darvin put Christie into the game for Russ, showing that he’s going to do what he needs to do to win. That plus getting Russ to buy in to coming off the bench are great signs we may finally have a visionary coach after so many duds.
Thanks Tom, for me these young are the second biggest story of the season behind health. If they can’t develop into a quality supporting cast, there isn’t a trade out there that will turn this team into contenders.
All of the talk about “waiting for the right superstar” and “we want to see what this team can do with Bryant and Dennis” are just BS smoke screens so he can continue to waffle. Pelinka is completely out of his depth, lucked into a title with the Bubble, and will be fired after this season despite his extension (that last one is honestly just wishful thinking, he ain’t gonna get fired…)