Around the NBA - October 2017

Not impressed with Fultz at all. A loser in college and doesn't look like much in the NBA, although that may be lingering injuries. Is he going to be the new Johnny Flynn and Smith or Fox the Steph Curry that they passed on? I don't think Philly ever really considered Ball because you can't really play him and Simmons together. They needed a scoring PG and Fultz was supposed to be the shizz.

I'll believe in Ball when the Lakers start winning. He's the kind of player I've always loved - an amazing passer and somebody who looks to run, but that kind of player hasn't really worked recently in the NBA. Now the trend is to have PG duties spread out among a bunch of players rather than have one mastermind dictate everything. (And teams that try that, like Houston and last year's OKC seem easy to stop in the playoffs.)

 

I compared Fultz to D.Angelo Russell back in February. I was not impressed with him in college either. (other than his athletic ability) So far I have not changed my mind

 

Sixers had number three pick and could have kept it along with Lakers/Kings pick but they probably felt compelled to at least try and get number one as they did not really need any more young players in the future. Fultz looked good in college, he has only played three games in the NBA so I wouldn't judge him. Fox is a weak shooter too so just like Ball he wasn't going to work next to Simmons. Smith went too low, unless they were trading down he made no sense.

I'm wondering how Simmons would do at PG. With his passing, vision and agility he could be lethal there.

 

He IS their PG - on offense.

 

Sixers should've offered the #1 pick to us for CJ. He'd be perfect for them.

 

I looked at the Lakers box score after Game 1 or 2, and my immediate thought was, "their bench is probably a better lineup than their starters."

I've always been a fan of Clarkson.

 

NBA Net Rating: Clippers, Raptors, Blazers In Top-3

The Los Angeles Clippers lead the NBA in net rating after the first week of the 17-18 regular season with a mark of +27.7, followed by the Toronto Raptors at 24.1 and Portland Trail Blazers at 21.5.

NBA Net Rating (Week 1)
1. Clippers: 27.7
2. Raptors: 24.1
3. Blazers: 21.5
4. Grizzlies: 11.4
5. Spurs: 9.5
6. Magic: 7.4
7. Rockets: 7.4
8. Jazz: 5.6
9. Pistons: 4.8
10. Nuggets: 3.8
11. Wizards: 3.4
12. Thunder: 3.4
13. Hornets: 2.9
14. Nets: 2.5
15. Cavaliers: 0.3
16. Celtics: -0.3
17. Warriors: -1.0
18. Wolves: -1.0
19. Heat: -1.5
20. Bucks: -2.8
21. Pacers: -4.2
22. Pelicans: -4.2
23. Kings: -6.2
24. Lakers: -6.4
25. Hawks: -7.8
26. Mavericks: -9.5
27. Knicks: -12.9
28. Bulls: -13.3
29. 76ers: -15.7
30. Suns: -28.7

 

Two of top 3 played Phoenix

 

He did that for us too and he still kinda sucked.

 

That’s who everyone should be hating on is Fultz! People just hate Ball’s dad. The kid has game.

 

Small Sample Size Fun - We have the 5th best DRtg and the #1 best ORtg after three games. Also, we are getting some whistles (despite our whining about not getting whistles): we're 7th in FTs per FGA (our opponents in aggregate are 9th, so we do foul a lot).

 

Funny how two of the top 3 played the Suns.

 

Wait a sec...... who are these hacks on here going to blame if they can’t blame the refs...... Kobe? Ball?

 

Although it still seems like Lillard gets clobbered and gets no call quite a bit I was shocked at how many calls he was getting in the 4th against the Bucks. If I was a Bucks fans I would have been getting frustrated. I'm not saying they weren't mostly legit but I was still impressed that he was getting calls. I hope that is a good sign for the future. And if you are going to get sporadic calls I would rather they be in the 4th if they aren't going to be consistent.

 

Two headlines today about the Lakers:
1. They come back from 21 down to almost take the game!
2. Lonzo Ball almost gets a triple-double!

Neglect to mention that the first happened while the second was on the bench.

 

Maybe the refs respect you more if you play hard on defense?

Wait a minute... James Harden.

 

I bet either or both the Lopez twins are available and would be happy to be liberated.

THAT SAID, I would be nervous about doing it for fear of upsetting Nurkic. He's happy here and he put in all that work over the summer, and if we traded for another C after he's had a rocky start it might throw him into a funk. (But Meyers + Vonleh works for RoLo. However they're more likely to want to offload Portis or Mirotic or both at the moment.)

 

It’s tough for folks to accept that we got beat fair and square... Milwaukee is just good in ways we aren’t (size size size) right now.

 

The refs gave us love in the 1st and 4th quarters. You can kind of tell who will get love in which quarter early on. I thought we had a great chance but what can ya do.