[cavairo7Participant]

 

I know it’s just preseason, but I’m drinking the Koolade with Jusuf Nurkic & Devin Booker.  Nurkic’s weight loss this summer has really made him more mobile on the court and he has been a rebounding machine.  He is so strong that once he gets position on his man, he can easily score or get the offensive or defensive rebound.  I believe that both he and Jokic can play together and complement each other well, especially on offense.  If Nurkic can stay healthy and out of foul trouble, he could be in for a big year (can somebody say fantasy sleeper?)  A comparision for the type of player Nurkic can be is Marc Gasol how he played in his first two seasons.  

Devin Booker will lead the Suns in scoring this season.  Booker has had an amazing 2016 for a first year player in the NBA: all NBA Rookie team, USA Select Team, compliments from Kobe, Wade, & LeBron, grew an inch, and has been called a complete offensive player from his general manager, all at the age of 19.  He leads the Suns in scoring (and NBA for that matter) in the preseason with 21.5 PPG and is only averaging 25 MPG.  He reminds me more of peak Allan Houston than Klay Thompson due to being able to score in the post and get to the free throw line at a frequest rate at an early age compared to Thompson.  Health withstanding, the sky is the limit for Booker.

Are you guys buying any player or team’s performance during this preseason?

 

 

[negguaryParticipant]

13points in 13 minutes!! 12 points in 12 minutes!! Barring an injury I expect him to be supremely dominate!!

[Hype Machine]

Embiid vs Thon Maker duels will be epic for years to come.

I still like Makers motor and handles at this point though.

 

[holefillers1Participant]

 I like Embiid’s 11pt and 12reb in 14 min tonight. Oh yeah 7-8free throws. He will average half his points from the line.

[ZachAttackParticipant]

Dante Exum had 18 points off of 10 shots in 26 mins. Not too bad for coming off an ACL injury

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 Kelly oubre has shown me something so far. His ball-handling and playmaking ability look much improved as well as his  confidence. He looks like he could be ready to step into a much bigger role for the wizards this season and maybe even challenge Porter for a starting spot. I think he’s a more naturally gifted offensive player than Porter. The next step for him will be improving defensively but I’m impressed with the strides he has made in his overall game so far, particularly because I had serious questions about his NBA readiness coming out of college.

[markfitz14Participant]

I have been impressed with his understanding of the game so far this preseason. Looks like the game is starting to slow down for him and he is making plays and shots. He prbly won’t break out into an all star this year. But still just showing that he belongs in the NBA in some capacity with room to get better is a huge thing. Looking forward to see if he becomes a starter some day. Maybe with a different team 

[SubZeroParticipant]

These last 3 draft classes (and next year’s) have me so excited for the future of the NBA. The Warriors have made me more cynical about this upcoming season (and most likely a couple after this year) than I ever have been, but all these young guys have me thinking the future of the league is in good hands. Besides the obvious names, you have guys like Booker, Nurkic, Jokic, Oubre, Exum, and a bunch of others who are looking to be mainstays in the NBA and potentially the next wave of All Stars

[rongataParticipant]

Its a sleeper pick but I think shabazz may have a good year.I know the focus is on Wiggins, Towns and everyone else but I have seen a steady improvement each year for shabazz. Not saying he’s an all star or anything but I can see maybe in the conversation for six man of the year or most improved. I’m going to predict 15 or 16 ppg, 5 RPG, 1 spg.

Also the shooting guard from Orlando, hezonja, I can see him having a break out year.

[piratejpParticipant]

Don’t really agree about Shabazz (11/3.5/.5), but I love you going out on a limb for him. 

[ChewyParticipant]

 but the Booker v Houston one had me agreeing completely. I loved watching Houston play on those NYK teams and I can see why you made that comparison.

[JoeWolf1]

I kind of like Jordan McRae to get some minutes backing up Irving now that Delly has bolted to the Bucks.

He was a summer league stud prior to what would have been his rookie year, before he opted to play overseas. They brought him to Cleveland last spring, he played pretty well, including a 36 point outing in the free for all which is every really good or really bad team’s last game of the regular season.

He’s dropping nearly 17/5/5 this pre-season, and I feel he’s a better option than Kay Felder this season. I think the 58th pick of the 2014 draft will have a real shot at establishing himself as a mainstay in the NBA this year.

[Hype Machine]

I always add a little high octane fuel into the Hype Machine at this time of year.

[Jaymes BrownParticipant]

 Porzingis could be an MVP candidate. Too bad the Knicks aren’t better.

19 PPG and DPOY level impact defensively? That can win MVP on a 50 win team.

 

 

 

 

 

[BeastMode716Participant]

 anyone get a chance to see him play the Wizards last night (10.13.16)? 

Good Lord! Embiid is rusty. not in basketball shape, not sharp at all – yet "the Process" continues to impress his Oponents. 

Not only did Embiid 11 pts & grab 12 rec in 13 min (1st half) last night – he also made 4 Gorgeous passes on back door cuts that for a normal NBA player would have been EZ dunks – but for this Horrific group od D-Leaguers in 76ers Uni’s NONE were converted.

Nevertheless the vision for a 7’2” 275 lb man was really amazing. Embiid & Simmons are going to create Magic in Philly – I just hope their fans can hang in there b/c other than Embiid (& Saric to a lesser extent) this team is Every bit as Awful as Last season & at BOTH ends they looks like they have Never been coached

At halftime, the Wizards Broadcast team who did the Telecast were Agog w/ Embiid & "The Process" did not disappoint – when a kid is This impressive, especially what he has been through the last 2+ years it’s OK that he created his own Nick-name

 

 

 

 

[brodiejayParticipant]

 I’ve been impressed with a few mentioned already:

 

-At this stage, I think Devin Booker just goes without saying! He’s already REALLY good and he’s getting better by the day.

-Rozier is oozing confidence as a scorer and a distributer.

-Embiid is a straight-up beast and has a mean streak I didn’t realise he possessed.

-Exum is looking more like the player I’ve been ridiculously excited about since Aussie high school.

-Kelly Oubre is WAY better than I realised. Without seeing much of him, I didn’t really rate him before this pre-season but I was completely wrong. He’s really versatile and a much better playmaker than I thought.

 

A few others:

-Jabari Parker is ridiculous. He’s primed to take the next step in his career. He’s like a cross between Carmelo and a young A’m’a’ré (I forget the correct punctuation) Stoudemire.

-I’m impressed by what I’ve seen from BOTH Hernangomez brothers. Their games are different, but they both play smart unselfish basketball and make the right plays.

-Thomas Satoransky of the Wizards and Mindaugas Kuzminskas of the Knicks both look like their games will translate well from Europe to the NBA. I thought that would be the case for both, considering their respective versatilities.

 

And finally, my Left-field observation:

-He showed it in Summer League, but this pre-season has confirmed… Richaun Holmes is actually really friggin nice. He’s super athletic, plays hard, makes smart plays, and does the little things well. He sets good solid screens and rolls hard to the rim and finishes and/or draws fouls. Haven’t heard anyone mention his name in the Sixers FrontcourtLogjamGate saga, but in my mind, he provides insurance and helps make Okafor expendible. I’m not saying he’s a better player than Okafor, but a rotation of Embiid, Saric, Noel and Holmes compliments Ben Simmons’ passing game best.

[Author]

Posts