tonight we find out who wins the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes (fingers crossed it's Houston)
per Adrian Wojnarowski: "the singular greatest prospect in nba draft history"
here's footage from his final game before the lottery. and if you're wondering how tall he is...........7'4"
he does all the things you'd expect a 7-footer to do..........and so much more. the agility, the touch from mid range, his handle...........dayumbanyama
I've read differing heights & wingspans but most have him at 7'-2" to 7'-4" with a wingspan from 7'-8" to 8'-0". He's roughly 240-250lbs.
For those that haven't seen him play or heard of him, I've heard him called a slightly less polished scoring version of Kevin Durant coming out of college with better defensive skills.
@galaxy27 he'd fit in great with that young Houston core of Green,Martin Jr,Jabari & Sergun, if the Rockets can convince Harden to come back I think you're looking at the playoffs next season with Ime Udoka coaching BUT just remember when it comes to Ime...
😎😎😎
i didn't see your post until after sent mine. a little creepy, quite frankly lol
No one gets that first step on the Big Toe! 😉
I was just looking at which teams are in this lottery and depending on who gets #1 their fortunes are going to change bigtime.
Young teams like Detroit,Houston,SA or Orlando (I don't put Charlotte in there because MJ is a horrible GM)
Older teams like Portland,Washington or Utah. I can just imagine him playing with Dame.
If he ends up with Luka/DAL, Tyrese Hailburton/INDY, SGA/OKC or with that young group in Toronto those teams are instant contenders for the next 10 years.
My NBA fan curiosity would be piqued by seeing him land with Zion & the Pelicans. Thats if Zion's fatass can lose about 40-50lbs so he can get back on the court. 😎
i wouldn't at all be surprised if he lands in SA. it just feels like Pop has been relegated to basketball hell post-Robinson and Duncan, and now he's going to be rewarded with his next dominant big man.
i don't like Popovich as a person, but i love him as a coach. the Spurs have a lot of holes, but it would be great for the kid to be under his tutelage
i wouldn't at all be surprised if he lands in SA. it just feels like Pop has been relegated to basketball hell post-Robinson and Duncan, and now he's going to be rewarded with his next dominant big man.
i don't like Popovich as a person, but i love him as a coach. the Spurs have a lot of holes, but it would be great for the kid to be under his tutelage
I was just thinking about him landing there earlier. Pop traded away his 3 best players recently in Derrick White,Dejounte Murray and Jakob Poeltl so he'd be basically starting from scratch with VW if he lands him.
I know there are some decent players left in Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan but I honestly haven't watched them much.
They do own a TON of 1st rounders after this draft though:
3 in 2024
3 in 2025
2 in 2026
2 in 2027
2 in 2028
plus 12 2nd rounders during that stretch,Pop will be be stashing players all over the globe. He's 74 and I doubt he stays there until all of these picks get used.
Is VW going to be "the next dominant Big Man"??????
He is tall; and at the age of 19 (or 20?) he is rail thin.
Watching video tape of him playing in France and in Las Vegas I do not see a player who fits the template of a "dominant Big Man" (i.e. playing in the paint and low post, scoring inside, playing interior defense, rebounding).
Instead, he is a player who appears to be able to play positions 1 - 5 on the court. He has ball handling skills, he can pass, he can shoot jump shots (close to the rim, mid range and from three), he can drive and score at the rim, he can defend the basket and in the paint, he can defend on the perimeter, he can defend players driving to the basket.
He appears to have a skill set and abilities that some of the best young players in the league (i.e. Giannis, Tatum, Booker, Luka, Jokic) have. He just happens to have that talent contained in a 7'4" body of a skinny teenager (that will not mature into a grown man's body until he is 24 or 25).
Should be fun to see him play in the NBA next season.
@SanctionII He should be a considered dominant big man for this era where you need guys who can play smaller but still do almost everything you want from a traditional big. His weight but more importantly his strength will definitely need to be improved for his development though, until then,that wingspan is gonna make up for a lot of his shortcomings.
You could say the same about the kid that OKC drafted 2nd in last years draft,Chet Holmgren. Rail thin at 7-1, 194lbs but should be a perfact fit for this era of getting 4-5 threes/3-4 blocks in a game at some point. VW has about 40-50lbs on this kid though and should be an impact right from the start.
Giannis gained 50 pounds when he got into the NBA - I'de advise Wembanyama do the same (listed at 7'4" - 230) or else he will be pushed around like the Cavs Mobley and Allen - maybe not in the regular season but definitley when/if he gets to the playoffs.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
@Steven59 said:
Giannis gained 50 pounds when he got into the NBA - I'de advise Wembanyama do the same (listed at 7'4" - 230) or else he will be pushed around like the Cavs Mobley and Allen - maybe not in the regular season but definitley when/if he gets to the playoffs.
That may be tough though when Giannis is a literal physical freak of nature. I honestly can't remember many players that came to the NBA and completely changed their physique like he did. We've seen plenty come in and become much stronger players but Giannis is on another level. Dude had the drive to become the best player in basketball and literally willed his team to a title. Very rare,imo.
VW would do well to try following his footsteps though. Where he ends up may play a hand in it as well when some franchises aren't the greatest at developing players. We'll see some teams land in the lottery,year after year, yet never get any better even though they're picking top 10 players most years. Like galaxy mentions above,landing with Pop in SA would be great for his development while I'd say landing with Charlotte wouldn't be.
Brian Windhorst at ESPN is causing some drama today with this rumor below: As revealed by Brian Windhorst, a reputable ESPN reporter, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who ended up very frustrated after the first-round exit to the Heat, could refuse to re-sign with the team this summer.
"The Bucks are facing a very difficult situation this summer because they have guys in their 30s who need to get paid, and they have Giannis with a contract extension situation," the journalist explains.
"It's unlikely the Greek will extend his contract this summer.
"He's got two years left, with everything that's going on with the team, and the fact that there's new ownership makes it very difficult."
Possible destinations for Antetokounmpo have already begun to emerge.
I'm seeing Portland and GS mentioned as the teams he may want to go to but he has two years left on his deal. Giannis is just 28 and any team looking to trade for him is likely going to have to hand over the largest trade package in draft picks in NBA history. I just saw a GS trade offer that had Draymond,Wiggins,Kuminga and two 1sts that Milwaukee's GM would probably laugh at.
If Portland wins the lottery tonight to pick VW, would Milwaukee take that pick as the headline in a Giannis deal? That would be a great consolation with having to start over but the Blazers would still need to send a bunch of future 1sts.
Brian Windhorst is an ass - He was a half beat writer in Cleveland following LeBron when still in high school at SVSM then gained a bit of respect with reporting on him with the Cavs. Then had to follow LeBron to Miami so he could still be relevant. Somehow he got to report with ESPN......... he's just another media figure that writes BS when he needs likes and a pay raise!
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
I agree but what he mentions above is all stuff that Giannis would have to think about. They have a new owner,no coach, Middleton is a 31yr old FA and isn't worth max money anymore and will be looking for it. Lopez is a 35yr old FA and likely going to be overpaid by some team because its a bad free agent class.
Lose those two players or even one and your team isn't as good as it was in a season where they went out in round one.
Lose one of the two and you may not even be able to use that freed up salary to add a similar player because they're probably pretty deep in the tax right now as a one of the top contenders.
The Spurs are one of the luckiest franchises ever, first the Admiral,then Tim Duncan and now Victor Wembanyama!
Pop is gonna coach till he's 90 now lol
Sorry galaxy, at least he didn't end up in Charlotte lol.
I don't think you could ask for a better start if you're Denver. Jokic already owning the glass with 12 boards,someone should ask AD if he intends on playing tonight lol.
@thisistheshow said:
I was out of pocket all day, and i have to say I just had a great time reading through this thread. Great stuff!!!
I cannot believe that the Spurs got it. That's wild.
They get VW,have about 46M in cap space this offseason with a projected 100+M for the following offseason and all of those future draft picks. The future is bright in SA right now.
The Spurs are one of the luckiest franchises ever, first the Admiral,then Tim Duncan and now Victor Wembanyama!
Pop is gonna coach till he's 90 now lol
Sorry galaxy, at least he didn't end up in Charlotte lol.
was hoping Houston, but i felt San Antonio coming
the Spurs were my 1a choice, so i'm pleased
i hope their first game is at home next season -- i will make an attempt to be there
The defense from both teams decided to take the night off lol. That Lebron turnover with like :20 left in the game was brutal. Score there and its a one possession game. Great game though.
The Spurs are one of the luckiest franchises ever, first the Admiral,then Tim Duncan and now Victor Wembanyama!
Pop is gonna coach till he's 90 now lol
Sorry galaxy, at least he didn't end up in Charlotte lol.
was hoping Houston, but i felt San Antonio coming
the Spurs were my 1a choice, so i'm pleased
i hope their first game is at home next season -- i will make an attempt to be there
Hey,i wanted to see the Rockets get him too. I wasn't too picky on where he'd end up as long as it was a WC team. He'll definitely be appointment viewing once games start later in 2023.
edit: I can't watch Spurs fans celebrate a draft lottery, I still have horrible flashbacks to the '97 lottery where Boston had the best odds out of all teams plus a 2nd lottery pick to try landing #1,Tim Duncan. and we ended up with 3 & 6. 😔😔😔
@galaxy27 My previous comment disappeared after an edit. I was rooting for the Rockets, I really didn't have a preference for VW to land with as long as it wasn't the Hornets and preferably a WC team.
I can't watch Spurs fans celebrate a draft lottery. I still have bad flashbacks to the '97 draft where Boston had the best odds to land the #1 pick,Tim Duncan, plus they owned a 2nd lottery pick. Both fell to 3 & 6. Damn that Rick $%#@^*%$ Pitino! 🤬
I watched the LA v. Denver game last night on a TV that showed the game on a streaming service.
The view of the game was "At the Rim" (cameras located above the playing floor, which showed the game action from above the playing floor; instead of from the side of the playing floor).
The view of the game from above the playing floor was very different that what I am used to. It showed the player's position relative to opposing players and the basket very well.
I could see the advantage an offensive player with the ball had over the defending player(s) whenever the defensive player was not directly between the offensive player and the basket.
I could also see the linear trajectory of a ball being shot by a player as it travelled from his hand to the basket. The balls that went into the basket clearly showed that the player shooting them was very accurate. The balls that missed going into the basket clearly showed that the player's aim was off (too far left, too far right, too short, too long thus not falling through the basket in the precise center of same).
For most of the game Denver played much better than LA. Denver has players (starters and bench) that when on the floor provide it with 5 shooters that can shoot at a high percentage and score from anywhere. Denver had lead throughout the game in in the late third quarter built a 21 point lead.
However, LA stormed back at the end of the third quarter and in the fourth quarter to cut Denver's lead to 3 points. LA also has players who can score from anywhere.
Another interesting thing about the game I watched last night. There were no announcers. All the audio of the game consisted of was the sounds in the arena picked up by microphones. Very strange not hearing a 2-3 person courtside broadcast team, plus additional sideline reporters providing real time commentary as the game is being played.
This series promises to be a very good one.
Celtics v. Heat tonight in Game 1. Hopefully it is a good one.
Sanction, There used to be times on the ESPN website that they would air games from that angle with no commentary. I watched a few games over the years there in their ESPN Watch section but these days when you attempt to watch live events on their site,you can't unless you enter your cable subscriber info first.
What's everyone's predictions for these two series? I know that I'm asking late in regards to the WCF,I was thinking Denver in 6 even before last night's game was played. I just think they have the best player to go along with a much deeper team. They just knocked out a Suns team that had two elite players so Lebron & AD shouldn't present something that they haven't seen before.
Usually when D'Angelo Russell scores 17 or more in these playoffs LA has been undefeated,when he scores under 17 the Lakers are winless. Last night Russell finished with just 8pts but scoring wasn't an issue with LA. AD had 40,Lebron 26, Reeves 23 & Hachimura 17 in a game where they put up 126pts.
LA's defense was the issue and it really didn't make sense that their best defender,Jarred Vanderbilt, only played 10mins. I get that you played from behind literally all game and you needed more scoring out there to get it close but you got to within 3 with about just under a minute left in the game. A couple defensive stops before then might have led to a different outcome.
I have Boston winning this Miami series in 6 games. While I think that the C's need to fear Butler,I don't see anyone on that roster that you have to really gameplan for defensively like they just had to do with Embiid & Harden. Bam is capable of getting you 20-25 on any given night but between Horford,Rob & Grant Williams he might see a harder time in the paint than he had against NY.
The talk up here on how should they deal with Butler is either play him straight up with one defender while trying to take away everyone else around him or send multiple defenders at him repeatedly and make everyone else try beating you.
Miami's 3pt shooting hasn't been all that great this season (26th) compared to last (1st) with pretty much the same exact group. I think I'd rather see Boston make Butler beat you,one on one, while attempting to make it very difficult for their shooters to get going. jimmy has a bum ankle and Boston has no shortage of more than capable wing defenders that they could throw at him throughout the game.
My biggest fear with Butler is the same that I had for Embiid & Harden., watching them get to the line repeatedly and controlling the pace. Miami wasn't a great offense to begin with and that was when Tyler Herro was in the lineup for them. I expect them to muck the game to try slowing it down to a defensive/halfcourt possession game that ends with two teams in the 90's.
As for the C's, I expect to see Tatum get doubled throughout the entire series when Miami isn't throwing zones at them. They'll try making it hard for him and have someone else beat them. Tatum had a 49pt game against Miami earlier in the season that was very similar to his G7 on sunday. Spoelstra is a great coach and he'll have some type of wrinkle to throw at Tatum.
This is where Brown,Brogdon,Smart & White need to take it right at Miami. While the Heat usually play a very good team defense they have some really subpar individual defenders and I fully expect the C's backcourt to take it right at them on that end.
Beat a few defenders to draw in the defense and it will either open up catch & shoot threes for Boston's shooters or Timelord is going to feast with the lobs in the paint. Bam tends to get a block a game but he's really not an elite shot blocker,neither is the backup center Cody Zeller. Its going to be interestig to see who Bams defends in these games, will it be Horford out by the 3pt line or will it be Rob Williams closer to the rim? If AL can finally start hitting some threes again it could make it much harder on that Heat defense.
I also see Mazzulla going a bit deeper into his bench in this round. Against Philly there were some certain matchups that didn't make sense to give the Sixers the chance to exploit them by playing guys like Grant Williams,Sam Hauser,Blake Griffin,Luke Kornet & Peyton Pritchard.
This time though Miami's bench isn't really all that deep and some of the guys they do play are similar to that C's bench listed above. Grant,Hauser & Pritchard are three of Boston's best 3pt shooters so it makes sense to get them some more playing time in this series.
I picked Boston in 6 above and I think its Jaylen Brown who picks it up on the offensive end when Tatum is getting everything but the kitchen sink thrown at him by the Miami defense. I also think Browns leads the C's in scoring for this series.
@SanctionII said:
I watched the game at my son's apartment. He does not have cable TV and views streamed broadcasts, including last night's game.
Again, a very different style of broadcasting a game.
I use only online streaming sites and I haven't really come across any from that angle. Eric,theshow, mentioned earlier that ESPN has an app called "Above the Rim" that he thinks is viewed from that angle. It could be that one of the streaming sites used it for one of their streams.
I do agree,It really is an entirely different perspective from that view. Its too bad that we can't get provided with both angles on some of these plays sent for review. What may look like a very close bang-bang type of play from one view could look entirely different from the above angle where it wasn't even close.
ESPN is usually pretty good when it comes to showing the differing angles on reviews but during the season I tend to watch a good amount of streams of Boston's opponent's announcers and if the play isn't one that favors that team they don't replay it all. Although Boston's home channel does this at times as well. lol
The game I watched last night was shown on ESPN's "Above The Rim".
It was definitely different from game broadcasts viewed from the side and slightly elevated above the playing floor, with commentators talking all game.
That was just an ugly sloppy effort by Boston in that 2nd half. You got away from everything that worked well for you in the first half and didn't play any defense at all in the 3rd quarter. They get this tunnel vision once they're able to get to the basket consistently and get away from what works best for them on offense,taking & hitting threes at a high clip.
Tatum & Brown kept handing the ball over,especially late, combining for 10 TOs between them.
Mazzulla gives Pritchard,arguably their best 3pt shooter, some decent playing time with 12mins but he only was able to take two 3's with one coming as a last ditch attempt at the end of the 3rd. Why put him out there if you're not going to let him shoot the ball? Just so he can end up covering Butler whose gonna score on him most of the time.
Butler was great and you gave him trips to the line all night. Bam did his job and they got a ton of timely shooting from Lowry,Strus,Martin & Vincent. Give them credit for taking control in that 3rd and holding it till the end.
That 90 second stretch where Tatum coughed it up 3 straight times was just brutal to watch. Tatum & Bown had 5 turnovers in that 4th quarter alone and I swear all 5 were absolute brainfart moments. 🤬
Being a fan of this team is like riding a huge rollercoaster,they'll have these huge highs one day then some rock bottom lows the next lol.
That 90 second stretch where Tatum coughed it up 3 straight times was just brutal to watch. Tatum & Bown had 5 turnovers in that 4th quarter alone and I swear all 5 were absolute brainfart moments. 🤬
Being a fan of this team is like riding a huge rollercoaster,they'll have these huge highs one day then some rock bottom lows the next lol.
..
I'm seeing online that YouTube tv went down with about 5 minutes to go in the 4th. That's when my stream/s stopped too. I got it back towards the end but it kept glitching. So what I'm saying is...I think I missed that full 3 turnover stretch.
That 90 second stretch where Tatum coughed it up 3 straight times was just brutal to watch. Tatum & Bown had 5 turnovers in that 4th quarter alone and I swear all 5 were absolute brainfart moments. 🤬
Being a fan of this team is like riding a huge rollercoaster,they'll have these huge highs one day then some rock bottom lows the next lol.
..
I'm seeing online that YouTube tv went down with about 5 minutes to go in the 4th. That's when my stream/s stopped too. I got it back towards the end but it kept glitching. So what I'm saying is...I think I missed that full 3 turnover stretch.
It was horrible. The first one was just a bad pass cross court that Butler was waiting on like he was Deion Sanders. Butler did the same to Brown earlier in the quarter.
Then Tatum's next one was a traveling call where he was out at the 3pt line,someone in the paint kicked it out to him and I think it was Martin who quickly closed out on him right when Tatum was just about to go up with the shot. It ended up this ugly looking motion into a shot attempt then at the last second he decided to not shoot. Once he went up then tried getting his foot back down It didn't work. The last one was just your everyday travelling call.
That 90 second stretch where Tatum coughed it up 3 straight times was just brutal to watch. Tatum & Bown had 5 turnovers in that 4th quarter alone and I swear all 5 were absolute brainfart moments. 🤬
Being a fan of this team is like riding a huge rollercoaster,they'll have these huge highs one day then some rock bottom lows the next lol.
..
I'm seeing online that YouTube tv went down with about 5 minutes to go in the 4th. That's when my stream/s stopped too. I got it back towards the end but it kept glitching. So what I'm saying is...I think I missed that full 3 turnover stretch.
It was horrible. The first one was just a bad pass cross court that Butler was waiting on like he was Deion Sanders. Butler did the same to Brown earlier in the quarter.
Then Tatum's next one was a traveling call where he was out at the 3pt line,someone in the paint kicked it out to him and I think it was Martin who quickly closed out on him right when Tatum was just about to go up with the shot. It ended up this ugly looking motion into a shot attempt then at the last second he decided to not shoot. Once he went up then tried getting his foot back down It didn't work. The last one was just your everyday travelling call.
....
We've seen this before. They go from all-NBA to can't play.
In that 3rd quarter, I felt like Mazzulla missed some opportunities for timeouts. We let everything snowball.
It's like this ...if you get a flat tire, what do you do? Do you change the tire and keep driving, or slice the other three? The Celtics often choose to slice the other three.
i really thought they got over the hump after the Sixers series and wouldn't throw another game away at home like i've seen them do at least a handful of times this season
they looked good in the first half, then out of nowhere they give up a 46(!) spot in the 3rd. the inexplicable lapses continue.
Comments
"Is this the exit door over here?"
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Yup but Beyonce says "don't forget...
😉😎😉
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Draft Lottery is tonight with some team hitting big.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
tonight we find out who wins the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes (fingers crossed it's Houston)
per Adrian Wojnarowski: "the singular greatest prospect in nba draft history"
here's footage from his final game before the lottery. and if you're wondering how tall he is...........7'4"
he does all the things you'd expect a 7-footer to do..........and so much more. the agility, the touch from mid range, his handle...........dayumbanyama
@erikthredd
i didn't see your post until after sent mine. a little creepy, quite frankly lol
I've read differing heights & wingspans but most have him at 7'-2" to 7'-4" with a wingspan from 7'-8" to 8'-0". He's roughly 240-250lbs.
For those that haven't seen him play or heard of him, I've heard him called a slightly less polished scoring version of Kevin Durant coming out of college with better defensive skills.
@galaxy27 he'd fit in great with that young Houston core of Green,Martin Jr,Jabari & Sergun, if the Rockets can convince Harden to come back I think you're looking at the playoffs next season with Ime Udoka coaching BUT just remember when it comes to Ime...
😎😎😎
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
No one gets that first step on the Big Toe! 😉
I was just looking at which teams are in this lottery and depending on who gets #1 their fortunes are going to change bigtime.
Young teams like Detroit,Houston,SA or Orlando (I don't put Charlotte in there because MJ is a horrible GM)
Older teams like Portland,Washington or Utah. I can just imagine him playing with Dame.
If he ends up with Luka/DAL, Tyrese Hailburton/INDY, SGA/OKC or with that young group in Toronto those teams are instant contenders for the next 10 years.
My NBA fan curiosity would be piqued by seeing him land with Zion & the Pelicans. Thats if Zion's fatass can lose about 40-50lbs so he can get back on the court. 😎
Good luck with the Rockets tonight!
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
@erikthredd
i wouldn't at all be surprised if he lands in SA. it just feels like Pop has been relegated to basketball hell post-Robinson and Duncan, and now he's going to be rewarded with his next dominant big man.
i don't like Popovich as a person, but i love him as a coach. the Spurs have a lot of holes, but it would be great for the kid to be under his tutelage
I was just thinking about him landing there earlier. Pop traded away his 3 best players recently in Derrick White,Dejounte Murray and Jakob Poeltl so he'd be basically starting from scratch with VW if he lands him.
I know there are some decent players left in Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan but I honestly haven't watched them much.
They do own a TON of 1st rounders after this draft though:
3 in 2024
3 in 2025
2 in 2026
2 in 2027
2 in 2028
plus 12 2nd rounders during that stretch,Pop will be be stashing players all over the globe. He's 74 and I doubt he stays there until all of these picks get used.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Is VW going to be "the next dominant Big Man"??????
He is tall; and at the age of 19 (or 20?) he is rail thin.
Watching video tape of him playing in France and in Las Vegas I do not see a player who fits the template of a "dominant Big Man" (i.e. playing in the paint and low post, scoring inside, playing interior defense, rebounding).
Instead, he is a player who appears to be able to play positions 1 - 5 on the court. He has ball handling skills, he can pass, he can shoot jump shots (close to the rim, mid range and from three), he can drive and score at the rim, he can defend the basket and in the paint, he can defend on the perimeter, he can defend players driving to the basket.
He appears to have a skill set and abilities that some of the best young players in the league (i.e. Giannis, Tatum, Booker, Luka, Jokic) have. He just happens to have that talent contained in a 7'4" body of a skinny teenager (that will not mature into a grown man's body until he is 24 or 25).
Should be fun to see him play in the NBA next season.
@SanctionII He should be a considered dominant big man for this era where you need guys who can play smaller but still do almost everything you want from a traditional big. His weight but more importantly his strength will definitely need to be improved for his development though, until then,that wingspan is gonna make up for a lot of his shortcomings.
You could say the same about the kid that OKC drafted 2nd in last years draft,Chet Holmgren. Rail thin at 7-1, 194lbs but should be a perfact fit for this era of getting 4-5 threes/3-4 blocks in a game at some point. VW has about 40-50lbs on this kid though and should be an impact right from the start.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Giannis gained 50 pounds when he got into the NBA - I'de advise Wembanyama do the same (listed at 7'4" - 230) or else he will be pushed around like the Cavs Mobley and Allen - maybe not in the regular season but definitley when/if he gets to the playoffs.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
That may be tough though when Giannis is a literal physical freak of nature. I honestly can't remember many players that came to the NBA and completely changed their physique like he did. We've seen plenty come in and become much stronger players but Giannis is on another level. Dude had the drive to become the best player in basketball and literally willed his team to a title. Very rare,imo.
VW would do well to try following his footsteps though. Where he ends up may play a hand in it as well when some franchises aren't the greatest at developing players. We'll see some teams land in the lottery,year after year, yet never get any better even though they're picking top 10 players most years. Like galaxy mentions above,landing with Pop in SA would be great for his development while I'd say landing with Charlotte wouldn't be.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Brian Windhorst at ESPN is causing some drama today with this rumor below:
As revealed by Brian Windhorst, a reputable ESPN reporter, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who ended up very frustrated after the first-round exit to the Heat, could refuse to re-sign with the team this summer.
"The Bucks are facing a very difficult situation this summer because they have guys in their 30s who need to get paid, and they have Giannis with a contract extension situation," the journalist explains.
"It's unlikely the Greek will extend his contract this summer.
"He's got two years left, with everything that's going on with the team, and the fact that there's new ownership makes it very difficult."
Possible destinations for Antetokounmpo have already begun to emerge.
I'm seeing Portland and GS mentioned as the teams he may want to go to but he has two years left on his deal. Giannis is just 28 and any team looking to trade for him is likely going to have to hand over the largest trade package in draft picks in NBA history. I just saw a GS trade offer that had Draymond,Wiggins,Kuminga and two 1sts that Milwaukee's GM would probably laugh at.
If Portland wins the lottery tonight to pick VW, would Milwaukee take that pick as the headline in a Giannis deal? That would be a great consolation with having to start over but the Blazers would still need to send a bunch of future 1sts.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
"As revealed by Brian Windhorst,"
Brian Windhorst is an ass - He was a half beat writer in Cleveland following LeBron when still in high school at SVSM then gained a bit of respect with reporting on him with the Cavs. Then had to follow LeBron to Miami so he could still be relevant. Somehow he got to report with ESPN......... he's just another media figure that writes BS when he needs likes and a pay raise!
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
I agree but what he mentions above is all stuff that Giannis would have to think about. They have a new owner,no coach, Middleton is a 31yr old FA and isn't worth max money anymore and will be looking for it. Lopez is a 35yr old FA and likely going to be overpaid by some team because its a bad free agent class.
Lose those two players or even one and your team isn't as good as it was in a season where they went out in round one.
Lose one of the two and you may not even be able to use that freed up salary to add a similar player because they're probably pretty deep in the tax right now as a one of the top contenders.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
its down to four! Houston,Portland,SA,Charlotte
The Spurs are one of the luckiest franchises ever, first the Admiral,then Tim Duncan and now Victor Wembanyama!
Pop is gonna coach till he's 90 now lol
Sorry galaxy, at least he didn't end up in Charlotte lol.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
{Giannis would have to think about. }
Giannis be only be thinking.............................
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
I don't think you could ask for a better start if you're Denver. Jokic already owning the glass with 12 boards,someone should ask AD if he intends on playing tonight lol.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Damn, even still, everytime I see the letters AD - I just think of Adrian Dantley
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Halftime Lakers 54 - Nuggets 72
I was out of pocket all day, and i have to say I just had a great time reading through this thread. Great stuff!!!
I cannot believe that the Spurs got it. That's wild.
They get VW,have about 46M in cap space this offseason with a projected 100+M for the following offseason and all of those future draft picks. The future is bright in SA right now.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
This game went from a possible blowout to a really great game. Reaves is having a huge game for LA.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Nuggets win 126 - 132
was hoping Houston, but i felt San Antonio coming
the Spurs were my 1a choice, so i'm pleased
i hope their first game is at home next season -- i will make an attempt to be there
Spurs fans acting like they just won the chip:
I caught some of the second half, off and on. Was there a reason/s that LA made it a game that stand out?
Denver looks good.
The defense from both teams decided to take the night off lol. That Lebron turnover with like :20 left in the game was brutal. Score there and its a one possession game. Great game though.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Hey,i wanted to see the Rockets get him too. I wasn't too picky on where he'd end up as long as it was a WC team. He'll definitely be appointment viewing once games start later in 2023.
edit: I can't watch Spurs fans celebrate a draft lottery, I still have horrible flashbacks to the '97 lottery where Boston had the best odds out of all teams plus a 2nd lottery pick to try landing #1,Tim Duncan. and we ended up with 3 & 6. 😔😔😔
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
@galaxy27 My previous comment disappeared after an edit. I was rooting for the Rockets, I really didn't have a preference for VW to land with as long as it wasn't the Hornets and preferably a WC team.
I can't watch Spurs fans celebrate a draft lottery. I still have bad flashbacks to the '97 draft where Boston had the best odds to land the #1 pick,Tim Duncan, plus they owned a 2nd lottery pick. Both fell to 3 & 6. Damn that Rick $%#@^*%$ Pitino! 🤬
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
I watched the LA v. Denver game last night on a TV that showed the game on a streaming service.
The view of the game was "At the Rim" (cameras located above the playing floor, which showed the game action from above the playing floor; instead of from the side of the playing floor).
The view of the game from above the playing floor was very different that what I am used to. It showed the player's position relative to opposing players and the basket very well.
I could see the advantage an offensive player with the ball had over the defending player(s) whenever the defensive player was not directly between the offensive player and the basket.
I could also see the linear trajectory of a ball being shot by a player as it travelled from his hand to the basket. The balls that went into the basket clearly showed that the player shooting them was very accurate. The balls that missed going into the basket clearly showed that the player's aim was off (too far left, too far right, too short, too long thus not falling through the basket in the precise center of same).
For most of the game Denver played much better than LA. Denver has players (starters and bench) that when on the floor provide it with 5 shooters that can shoot at a high percentage and score from anywhere. Denver had lead throughout the game in in the late third quarter built a 21 point lead.
However, LA stormed back at the end of the third quarter and in the fourth quarter to cut Denver's lead to 3 points. LA also has players who can score from anywhere.
Another interesting thing about the game I watched last night. There were no announcers. All the audio of the game consisted of was the sounds in the arena picked up by microphones. Very strange not hearing a 2-3 person courtside broadcast team, plus additional sideline reporters providing real time commentary as the game is being played.
This series promises to be a very good one.
Celtics v. Heat tonight in Game 1. Hopefully it is a good one.
Sanction, There used to be times on the ESPN website that they would air games from that angle with no commentary. I watched a few games over the years there in their ESPN Watch section but these days when you attempt to watch live events on their site,you can't unless you enter your cable subscriber info first.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
I watched the game at my son's apartment. He does not have cable TV and views streamed broadcasts, including last night's game.
Again, a very different style of broadcasting a game.
Too bad LA dug themselves into such a big hole in the first half. Should be interesting to see who takes control of game 1 tonight - Boston/Miami.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
What's everyone's predictions for these two series? I know that I'm asking late in regards to the WCF,I was thinking Denver in 6 even before last night's game was played. I just think they have the best player to go along with a much deeper team. They just knocked out a Suns team that had two elite players so Lebron & AD shouldn't present something that they haven't seen before.
Usually when D'Angelo Russell scores 17 or more in these playoffs LA has been undefeated,when he scores under 17 the Lakers are winless. Last night Russell finished with just 8pts but scoring wasn't an issue with LA. AD had 40,Lebron 26, Reeves 23 & Hachimura 17 in a game where they put up 126pts.
LA's defense was the issue and it really didn't make sense that their best defender,Jarred Vanderbilt, only played 10mins. I get that you played from behind literally all game and you needed more scoring out there to get it close but you got to within 3 with about just under a minute left in the game. A couple defensive stops before then might have led to a different outcome.
I have Boston winning this Miami series in 6 games. While I think that the C's need to fear Butler,I don't see anyone on that roster that you have to really gameplan for defensively like they just had to do with Embiid & Harden. Bam is capable of getting you 20-25 on any given night but between Horford,Rob & Grant Williams he might see a harder time in the paint than he had against NY.
The talk up here on how should they deal with Butler is either play him straight up with one defender while trying to take away everyone else around him or send multiple defenders at him repeatedly and make everyone else try beating you.
Miami's 3pt shooting hasn't been all that great this season (26th) compared to last (1st) with pretty much the same exact group. I think I'd rather see Boston make Butler beat you,one on one, while attempting to make it very difficult for their shooters to get going. jimmy has a bum ankle and Boston has no shortage of more than capable wing defenders that they could throw at him throughout the game.
My biggest fear with Butler is the same that I had for Embiid & Harden., watching them get to the line repeatedly and controlling the pace. Miami wasn't a great offense to begin with and that was when Tyler Herro was in the lineup for them. I expect them to muck the game to try slowing it down to a defensive/halfcourt possession game that ends with two teams in the 90's.
As for the C's, I expect to see Tatum get doubled throughout the entire series when Miami isn't throwing zones at them. They'll try making it hard for him and have someone else beat them. Tatum had a 49pt game against Miami earlier in the season that was very similar to his G7 on sunday. Spoelstra is a great coach and he'll have some type of wrinkle to throw at Tatum.
This is where Brown,Brogdon,Smart & White need to take it right at Miami. While the Heat usually play a very good team defense they have some really subpar individual defenders and I fully expect the C's backcourt to take it right at them on that end.
Beat a few defenders to draw in the defense and it will either open up catch & shoot threes for Boston's shooters or Timelord is going to feast with the lobs in the paint. Bam tends to get a block a game but he's really not an elite shot blocker,neither is the backup center Cody Zeller. Its going to be interestig to see who Bams defends in these games, will it be Horford out by the 3pt line or will it be Rob Williams closer to the rim? If AL can finally start hitting some threes again it could make it much harder on that Heat defense.
I also see Mazzulla going a bit deeper into his bench in this round. Against Philly there were some certain matchups that didn't make sense to give the Sixers the chance to exploit them by playing guys like Grant Williams,Sam Hauser,Blake Griffin,Luke Kornet & Peyton Pritchard.
This time though Miami's bench isn't really all that deep and some of the guys they do play are similar to that C's bench listed above. Grant,Hauser & Pritchard are three of Boston's best 3pt shooters so it makes sense to get them some more playing time in this series.
I picked Boston in 6 above and I think its Jaylen Brown who picks it up on the offensive end when Tatum is getting everything but the kitchen sink thrown at him by the Miami defense. I also think Browns leads the C's in scoring for this series.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
I use only online streaming sites and I haven't really come across any from that angle. Eric,theshow, mentioned earlier that ESPN has an app called "Above the Rim" that he thinks is viewed from that angle. It could be that one of the streaming sites used it for one of their streams.
I do agree,It really is an entirely different perspective from that view. Its too bad that we can't get provided with both angles on some of these plays sent for review. What may look like a very close bang-bang type of play from one view could look entirely different from the above angle where it wasn't even close.
ESPN is usually pretty good when it comes to showing the differing angles on reviews but during the season I tend to watch a good amount of streams of Boston's opponent's announcers and if the play isn't one that favors that team they don't replay it all. Although Boston's home channel does this at times as well. lol
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
The game I watched last night was shown on ESPN's "Above The Rim".
It was definitely different from game broadcasts viewed from the side and slightly elevated above the playing floor, with commentators talking all game.
@erikthredd
Your write-up above is excellent. Thank you so much for sharing it (with the class).
Nuggets in 5.
Celtics in 6
3rd 2:48 90 - 84 Heat
End of 3, Heat 102 - Celtics 91
🤬🤬🤬
That was just an ugly sloppy effort by Boston in that 2nd half. You got away from everything that worked well for you in the first half and didn't play any defense at all in the 3rd quarter. They get this tunnel vision once they're able to get to the basket consistently and get away from what works best for them on offense,taking & hitting threes at a high clip.
Tatum & Brown kept handing the ball over,especially late, combining for 10 TOs between them.
Mazzulla gives Pritchard,arguably their best 3pt shooter, some decent playing time with 12mins but he only was able to take two 3's with one coming as a last ditch attempt at the end of the 3rd. Why put him out there if you're not going to let him shoot the ball? Just so he can end up covering Butler whose gonna score on him most of the time.
Butler was great and you gave him trips to the line all night. Bam did his job and they got a ton of timely shooting from Lowry,Strus,Martin & Vincent. Give them credit for taking control in that 3rd and holding it till the end.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Final Heat 123 - Celtics 116
That 90 second stretch where Tatum coughed it up 3 straight times was just brutal to watch. Tatum & Bown had 5 turnovers in that 4th quarter alone and I swear all 5 were absolute brainfart moments. 🤬
Being a fan of this team is like riding a huge rollercoaster,they'll have these huge highs one day then some rock bottom lows the next lol.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Celtics in 6
Celtics in 6> @erikthredd said:
..
I'm seeing online that YouTube tv went down with about 5 minutes to go in the 4th. That's when my stream/s stopped too. I got it back towards the end but it kept glitching. So what I'm saying is...I think I missed that full 3 turnover stretch.
It was horrible. The first one was just a bad pass cross court that Butler was waiting on like he was Deion Sanders. Butler did the same to Brown earlier in the quarter.
Then Tatum's next one was a traveling call where he was out at the 3pt line,someone in the paint kicked it out to him and I think it was Martin who quickly closed out on him right when Tatum was just about to go up with the shot. It ended up this ugly looking motion into a shot attempt then at the last second he decided to not shoot. Once he went up then tried getting his foot back down It didn't work. The last one was just your everyday travelling call.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Watched only the 4th quarter but Da C's (pronounced "disease") didn't look very good playing as a home-team favorite.
....
We've seen this before. They go from all-NBA to can't play.
In that 3rd quarter, I felt like Mazzulla missed some opportunities for timeouts. We let everything snowball.
It's like this ...if you get a flat tire, what do you do? Do you change the tire and keep driving, or slice the other three? The Celtics often choose to slice the other three.
why the C's always gotta make things difficult?
i really thought they got over the hump after the Sixers series and wouldn't throw another game away at home like i've seen them do at least a handful of times this season
they looked good in the first half, then out of nowhere they give up a 46(!) spot in the 3rd. the inexplicable lapses continue.