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Ingram has shown himself to be a capable scorer over his three years, but he has yet to evolve into anything other than a halfcourt slasher who can’t space the floor. As for Ball, his playmaking chops and defensive abilities paper over a growing concern that he lacks the dynamism or shooting acumen to distinguish himself as one of the best point guards in the game, or at least someone worthy of being drafted with the second-overall pick (especially as De’Aaron Fox has exploded this season).
Lets take a look at Lonzo's numbers - 9.4 points, 5.0 assists, 40% field goal, 43% free throw. He is mediocre and if he didn't play in L.A. and have a loud mouth dad he would be just a run of mill NBA player and nobody give any notice. As a starting point guard he ranks near the bottom of the list of NBA starting point guards.
Without Lebron the Lakers are average at best and IMO a lottery team. The Lakers should have drafted Fox, now he is a future all star.
I don't know why you're always so hard on Giannis on here. He has to be in the talk for MVP so far this season.
He's been named Eastern conf player of the month for Oct, Nov, Dec. He has the numbers, other than maybe Harden who is coming on strong, but will they really give Harden the MVP 2 years in a row? He's got all the big highlights etc. He's improved the Bucks greatly this year. He reminds me of Lebron because when he drives into the lane at least 3 men all collapse on him & he passes to an open man for an easy 3. Opens the perimeter. Look at the Bucks ridiculous 3's stats this year. Giannis is a big part of that. In all his matchups with other all-stars, he's either held his own or outplayed them (Anthony David, Embiid, Lillard, Kawhi,
We will see how the 2nd half of the season goes but so far Giannis is at least in the running for MVP.
I think he's an MVP contender but I don't see how he's the frontrunner. But my point was that he isn't a candidate for "best player in the world" status that some are trying to give to him. That status comes with not only talent but also accomplishments; the former, Giannis has in spades, the latter, he pretty much has nothing...
CB, Dray and Klay are diminished versions of themselves. Klay is shooting better now but I don't think he's currently anywhere near as sharp as we've seen him...
@Allen, Lonzo wouldn't start almost anywhere else in The League lol...
Last edited by murksiderock; 01-07-2019 at 04:41 PM..
That is impressive, LAL won on the road despite Kuzma 4-20fg and LeBron no-show.
Doncic having big games doesn't seem to help the Mavs, they've lost plenty when he scores big.
I think he's an MVP contender but I don't see how he's the frontrunner. But my point was that he isn't a candidate for "best player in the world" status that some are trying to give to him. That status comes with not only talent but also accomplishments; the former, Giannis has in spades, the latter, he pretty much has nothing...
CB, Dray and Klay are diminished versions of themselves. Klay is shooting better now but I don't think he's currently anywhere near as sharp as we've seen him...
@Allen, Lonzo wouldn't start almost anywhere else in The League lol...
Giannis is leading the team with the best point differential, the best winning percentage, and he's putting up 26/12/6 on elite efficiency, leading the best offense and the 2nd best defense. He has to be the frontrunner at this point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MAGAalot
Its great fun watching Harden play, he's definitely the most entertaining player in the NBA since Michael Jordan retired from the Wizards.
There are moments when Harden is fantastic to watch, but his march to the foul line is the grossest elite basketball on display in the NBA. The bad comes with the good, and I don't enjoy watching it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MAGAalot
That is impressive, LAL won on the road despite Kuzma 4-20fg and LeBron no-show.
Doncic having big games doesn't seem to help the Mavs, they've lost plenty when he scores big.
Dallas is really poor defensively, and they are a young team that makes lots of mistakes. Lakers kids v. Dallas is pretty much a tossup. No matter how talented, almost no rookies can carry an NBA team to victories.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I have hard getting excited about Harden when he only shoots 44% from the field year almost every year. The rest of the elite players mentioned in the MVP race almost always shoot 50% or better almost every year. Giannis is shooting 58% for crying out loud and James, Durant, Davis are all over 50%. Leonard is at 49.9% which is close enough and Curry is around 48%
I don't know about the rest of you, but I have hard getting excited about Harden when he only shoots 44% from the field year almost every year. The rest of the elite players mentioned in the MVP race almost always shoot 50% or better almost every year. Giannis is shooting 58% for crying out loud and James, Durant, Davis are all over 50%. Leonard is at 49.9% which is close enough and Curry is around 48%
No I'm with you. Harden is an elite scorer but he isn't a great shooter. He's a good shooter and he's a throwback scorer in the sense that he's a chucker; his game would have been perfect in the Iverson/Kobe eras and no one would criticize his game...
I've never been a Harden fan, but I can appreciate his unique skill set. His game is predicated off getting to the line, again, throwback player somewhat to that degree. He has the ability to score at all levels on the floor, which is what makes him dangerous. When he's on, he can take you from anywhere, and few have ever been as good drawing contact...
But absolutely, this guy is not an elite shooter. I wouldn't being Giannis' FG% up though, only about 14% of his total field goals attempted are from 3, and he's only hitting 17% of those. I don't know how many shots he takes outside the paint, but it damn sure isn't alot. Giannis is gifted and worth the price of admission, but he is a little overrated. I do like him though, in contrast to I really don't like Harden, but until Giannis has a consistent J and his talent translates into postseason success, I think we are overeating him on his endless potential...
This MVP race is tight to me. Through the first half Giannis has as strong a case as anyone. Harden, Steph, LeBron, Jokic, Kawhi are the other 5 serious contenders. In the case of Steph and LeBron, we've seen their value for a Most Valuable Player award, their teams go in the dumpster without them, and when those two are playing, they still look like two of the three best players in the NBA...
But there has long been LeBron fatigue, and now there is some Curry fatigue, so those guys won't win it unless they go on a historic tear in the second half. Kawhi is the last of the Top 6 MVP candidates to me, he doesn't play back to backs and his team wins without him, however, its undeniable that he's an upgrade over DeRozan and provides a completely different threat on the court for opponents...
Jokic nailed a game winner tonight, is a 7-footer who shoots 50% and can shoot from anywhere, is a triple double threat every night, and a colossal mismatch. I guess he isn't given more respect because of where he plays and because he hasn't been in the postseason, but he is certainly in the conversation. His team is #1 in The West and has held Top 3 seeding for the entire first half. His team is real and his game is realer...
And I personally feel Harden is in the driver seat right now with his play over the last month-plus. This is gonna be a tight race this year. It's going to come down to who was the most consistent wire to wire, or who separates with a historic moment. This is why Harden is the leader for me right now, but Jokic and Giannis have been the most consistent players, and haven't missed any time like LeBron, Curry, Kawhi...
I would love a Bucks/Nuggets Finals. Here's a real question, if you had to start your team with Jokic or Giannis, who do you take and why? I'm sure almost everyone is gonna blindly say Giannis, but while their style of play is different, they create much of the same results for their teams. I don't think there's a wrong answer, but I'm inclined to take Jokic!
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