knicks1248 wrote:

jrodmc wrote:

gradyandrew wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:Bulls are good

Have a star player
A good secondary player
One of the better pg and c
With decent bench

They were on fire first two games of the season before cooling off in Game 3.

Kevin Pelton on ESPN.com wrote that pre season games are 30% predictive of the regular season. That seems fair. I'm also interested in how historical that figure is. It seems like pre season games now are much more competitive than even 4 years ago (Frank's freshman year). I don't think the Bulls will be great and the Lakers suck but I'm leaning that way.

Watched some Bulls highlights and was impressed, especially with some of their flashes of D, but that Laker lineup... and Ariza is already out for two months or more, will be interesting to see what happens.

Its only 4 preseason games now, before when there was 7 to 8 preseason games you wouldn't see the starters until the last 2 or 3 games.

Now starters are playing 20 to 30 minutes in every game, with only the major vets taking off a game.

I'm not sold on the bulls yet

Ariza's out for 2 months. He was slotted to start with AD playing center (albeit not happily). Does this mean Melo gets the start with the super trio?

Lakers 0-5

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/NateDuncanNBA/status/1448189300848226305

ToddTT wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/NateDuncanNBA/status/1448189300848226305

Oh well now there’s a big surprise.

A real genius

MaTT4281 wrote:

ToddTT wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/NateDuncanNBA/status/1448189300848226305

Oh well now there’s a big surprise.

Go figure, he's afraid to take the shot.

LOL!

Panos wrote:

Nalod wrote:

gradyandrew wrote:If Russell Westbrook was able to successfully lower KD's ceiling why shouldn't he be able to do the same for AD and LeBron? Anyone think LeBron will hand Westbrook the keys to the offense? What will Westbrook do off the ball?

If Russ is all about “winning” perhaps its time for him to demonstrate how. Melo to stay in the league had come to grips that he needed to not just be in better shape (not Westbrooks issue) but to do otherthings besides attack. This will be hard for him as he a double-double machine, MVP and a beast. How Vogel will be to influence him and others to play in will be a challange. You got Melo, Lebron, Rondo, and Wesbrook all Alphas on the back 9 of their careers. To succeed they need to be healthy (duh) but play enough to get the reps thru a long season and build chemistry for the playoff run.
The OKC version of Westbrook and KD with Harden was a different look. Westbrook is now on a talented team. He knows he is not 25 anymore and trying to build an MVP season. He has to know moving without the ball with this kind of talent will give him easier buckets and open things up for his mates. He will get open looks but has to hit them too!!!

Does this remind anyone of the 2003-04 Lakers with Gary Payton and Karl Malone?
BTW, how do the Lakers do it?
Is it that everyone dreams of playing for the storybook franchise?
Somehow MJ resisted the temptation?

That laker team did not buy into the triangle and the egos got in the way. Kobe had a not so great part in that team was well. This laker team knows everything we know and a hell of a lot more. They know Westbrook has to buy in and sacrifice WITHOUT DIALING HIS AGGRESSION. That is a tough order.

Jordan is the bench mark? Perhaps. Jordan was a different cat altogether. Magic/Lebron loved to win but win as a group. Jordan was the alpha that did it as the pack leader by force, not inclusion. Jordan burned out after the first three. That much is real. By the second go he was 35 and cooked. HE had to walk away. The Wizards thing was about him eventually buying the team from Abe Polin after retirement and him being GM. That did not happen.

The Lakers don’t fit unless Lebron and vogel can find a medium to make it blend and that is possible. Key is can Westbrook be effective off the ball rather than stand around waiting for the ball to come back to him as he has for his career? If he can learn this life will be much easier for him rather than pound the ball.
I can see progress early on if he is less aggressive and thats an issue. The second part is to stop thinking and react to play off the ball. They will have issues early. Its what happes later that counts.