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Yay, Golden State. Congratulations! I bet those wins didn't make Kevin Durant feel too good. He was probably thinking they couldn't win without him and dang, they won them all so far. These games have been fun to watch.
That guy Leonard Meyers on Trail Blazers team sure did look like a tall Justin Bieber. lol
If y'all hear anymore news about Zion, please post it. He and Kevin Garnett both went to school near me in upstate SC.
Little surprise Zion was number 1 pick of the draft last night.
This guy is going to be something else, truly a once in a generation player. I love watching basketball, but it's not something I'm focused on the entire game during the regular season.
But with Zion, he's the kind of guy you want to watch just to see him play regardless.
Little surprise Zion was number 1 pick of the draft last night.
This guy is going to be something else, truly a once in a generation player. I love watching basketball, but it's not something I'm focused on the entire game during the regular season.
But with Zion, he's the kind of guy you want to watch just to see him play regardless.
He's a great athlete...whether he turns out to be a great player like Lebron is less than certain....he'll need to develop a better 3 pt shot, better free throw shooting, and learn to play with more focus for longer. Can he be a great generational player, yes. Can he also be a flop, yes. Jury is still out.
Little surprise Zion was number 1 pick of the draft last night.
This guy is going to be something else, truly a once in a generation player. I love watching basketball, but it's not something I'm focused on the entire game during the regular season.
But with Zion, he's the kind of guy you want to watch just to see him play regardless.
I'm with you....he is just so much fun to watch, must see TV whenever he is on the court.
Almost guaranteed to see him do something on the court you've never seen before every time he steps on the floor.
Really looking forward to see him play at the next level....I have no doubt he will be a force....
I'm with you....he is just so much fun to watch, must see TV whenever he is on the court.
Almost guaranteed to see him do something on the court you've never seen before every time he steps on the floor.
Really looking forward to see him play at the next level....I have no doubt he will be a force....
Yeah I've watched some videos of this guy and he is going to be better than I originally thought...I just can't think of anyone to compare him to....285 lbs of great explosive force and basketball skills. But he still needs to develop and want to be great (I think he probably has that) and I worry about his weight being a negative factor dropping 285 lbs from the sky on those knees and what if he loves gumbo?....but when you see what he does on the floor, it's magic.
ok
Now let me preface by saying this: I don't think Zion Williamson is a bad player. Not at all. By all accounts he's living up to the hype at Duke thus far. But I'm reading everywhere that NBA teams had better start tanking so that they can grab this guy in the draft where he's supposed to be either number 1 at best or a lottery pick at worst.
How is this even possible? He's 6'7, 285 lbs. He's an undersized power forward/center who thrives when playing physical on the inside. While he can make the outside jumper (sometimes) its not his strength at all. Bigger question, who exactly is he going to guard in the NBA??? At 6'7 he's way too small to bang with your typical NBA 4 or 5 (Think Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, etc, all 6'10 and taller. They would eat him for breakfast in the low post) but at 285 lbs he would be too slow to guard NBA small forwards on the perimeter.
The easy solution would be to say "well he just needs to lose weight". But the problem is that from what I've seen of him, his game is based on power not finesse, all power dunks and stuff inside. I think it would be harder for him to keep playing that type of game if he dropped down to 235 lbs which would actually be more in line with his height.
The other thing is I watched some of the Gonzaga game. I found it interesting that he wasn't the number one option at the end there. if he's not the clear top option on a college team, how is that going to happen when he's the number one pick playing with seasoned NBA players, all or most of whom would have more years seniority? The one thing that stood out about the great NBA stars who played college was that they stood head and shoulders above EVERYONE in college. Think Durant or Carmelo at Syracuse, even compared to other guys on their teams who would be good enough to play in the NBA, there was no question as to who was top dog. There is a serious question with Zion.
Then there's the weight thing. 285 lbs as a broke college teenager? say hello to weight problems once he starts making that NBA money. If you've watched the NBA long enough, plenty of players have eaten their way out of the NBA. I would be scared to death if I was an NBA exec.
Now do I think he would be a terrible NBA player? No. in the right situation, he could become a decent role player or maybe coming off the bench but lottery pick franchise player? no way.
Sad thing is, I can think of one sport in which he WOULD be a franchise type player...football! he's basically Gronkowski 2.0. Same size/height, only even more athletic than Gronk (with a 42 inch vertical). In football he would be a lottery pick, and when you remember that he isn't even the first basketball player to make the leap (see Antonio Gates) it's not out of the question for him. Like I said, in the NBA he would at best be a role player with a decent probability of being a bust. In the NFL he would be a superstar with a potentially HOF career ahead of him.
He's 6'7", 285, 42" vertical and his lateral movement is superb....he can guard anyone.
I do question why he wasn;t the go to guy at Duke....he'll need to work on his skills to be a great player...I think he will.
People pointed out that this misses Zion's lateral quickness, but still it may be not far off. Randle is a good player (21 pts, 8.7 trb, .524 fg%) but not a once-in-a-generation guy. And a better free throw shooter than Zion.
Zion will have to develop at least a 15 foot jump shot to be much better than Randle. It remains to be seen whether he can do it. Some guys do it after 2-3 years in the league (e.g. Shawn Kemp). Others never do.
Yay, Golden State. Congratulations! I bet those wins didn't make Kevin Durant feel too good. He was probably thinking they couldn't win without him and dang, they won them all so far. These games have been fun to watch.
That guy Leonard Meyers on Trail Blazers team sure did look like a tall Justin Bieber. lol
If y'all hear anymore news about Zion, please post it. He and Kevin Garnett both went to school near me in upstate SC.
Do you ever look foolish? All got tricked when they ran into a 'real' team in Toronto. Talk about "whaaa... whaaaa.. big brother KD... puhleaaase comeback!! We need you... We know you're hurt.. but these Raptors are putting a WHOOPING on us!!"
As for Zion, he looks like a man playing amongst boys right now, and agree with some analysts that he is a mix of various players strengths. For me personally, I think his conditioning will be the only issue if he doesn't stay on top of it, and he looks like the type that can get big, overweight and sluggish easily like a Carmelo Anthony (soft and marsh mellow looky).
His ceiling right now is Blake Griffin, which, if that's the case, means he'll be a borderline HOF'er. That means there will likely come a stretch where he's debatable a Top 10 guy. How long said stretch lasts is anyone's guess. Personally, I don't think he necessarily has HOF'er in him...
The Pelicans will shave some of that weight off him to make him even more explosive. In order to succeed in the NBA at the level people say, he's gonna need to be more than dunking on everyone. Remember, Blake did that too. He will develop a shot, but how reliable will it be? How will he perform under pressure? If he can slim it down to 260 of muscle a la LeBron, then we have a chance to really see something....
Until then, I think he'll be better than Randle, but his ceiling really doesn't appear transcendent as everyone wants to believe...
His ceiling right now is Blake Griffin, which, if that's the case, means he'll be a borderline HOF'er. That means there will likely come a stretch where he's debatable a Top 10 guy. How long said stretch lasts is anyone's guess. Personally, I don't think he necessarily has HOF'er in him...
The Pelicans will shave some of that weight off him to make him even more explosive. In order to succeed in the NBA at the level people say, he's gonna need to be more than dunking on everyone. Remember, Blake did that too. He will develop a shot, but how reliable will it be? How will he perform under pressure? If he can slim it down to 260 of muscle a la LeBron, then we have a chance to really see something....
Until then, I think he'll be better than Randle, but his ceiling really doesn't appear transcendent as everyone wants to believe...
Blake Griffin is a good example of a guy who developed his jumper. His first 4 years in the league, he averaged around 25 or so 3 pt attempts per year. This year he had 522 3pt attempts, and shot a reasonable .362 (league wide avg. was .355). Griffin also markedly improved his free-throw shooting starting around his 4th year.
ZW is going to have to follow a similar path in order to become an all-star.
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