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Summer League 2017

3K views 69 replies 9 participants last post by  elcap15 
#1 ·
bad shooting night for Lonzo Ball but Brandon Ingram balled out (so to speak)
 
#31 ·
My outlook on the Lakers' immediate future is actually improving. They will almost surely be better than Phoenix and Sacramento next season with the possibility of being better than Dallas and New Orleans. The 11-spot should be their goal. I think it's achievable if this team gels.
 
#33 ·
I've mostly gotten over the DLo trade since we picked up KCP, but this Lonzo vs DLo stuff is senseless. Whether it's from Magic, Luke or fans, the fact is we didn't have to pick between them. We could've had both. And it could've been great. We'll never know.

Lonzo being awesome doesn't take away from DLo. DLo can still and probably will be really good.
 
#34 ·
Lonzo looked gassed to me in the 2nd half of the game last night. It was the first time I have seen him make make bad decisions with the ball. His shot looked awful too. He is going to have to get into better shape if he is going to hang with the guards in the west and the NBA schedule.

His understanding of the game is unreal though. He's not a great on ball defender, but he is great off ball. He got at least 2 steals I can think of last night where he just sagged off his man, making him look open so he could pick off the pass when it actually came. He really manipulates the game. Just really smart, deliberate basketball.

Kuzma is a keeper. He can shoot, run, catch and finish which is going to work really well on this team. He makes good passes too.

Zubac has been really disappointing. He is slow which is no surprise. But what happened to his hands and touch? He cost Zo at least 2 assts on totally blown finishes around the rim. His post moves look weak and clunky. At least he rebounded last night. His mid range and defense have been alright.
 
#37 ·
DLo could literally make multiple all-star teams and you still wouldn't change your opinion. Just let it go, man. He's not on the team anymore. We don't need to frame Lonzo's triumphs or failures through DLo comparisons.

DLo reaching stardom in Brooklyn proves you wrong but doesn't mean shit to the team we both root for. Him bottoming out proves you right, but again, same result. So, who the hell cares?

Just enjoy Lonzo.
 
#38 ·
Kuzma is straight up coming for a rotation spot. If he can keep shooting like this (he's essentially been hot since the last part of the college season), we have to find him minutes.

Still can't quite find an NBA comparison for him. Legit 6'9", long arms, fluid and smooth athlete, above average defender, passer, ball handler and (hopefully) shooter. Major weaknesses right now finishing inside and decision making (shot selection), but man, we might seriously have another steal on our hands. He's defended some high level prospects (Tatum, Brown) and has gone at NBA quality defenders (RHJ) and more than held his own.

Kudos again to our scouting department.
 
#39 ·
training camp invite to Vander Blue please
 
#42 ·
Kuzma reminds of Clifford Robinson.
 
#44 ·
No Lonzo tonight, out with a calf strain.

Pretty crazy that they've made it this far without: Ingram, Hart, Dozier for the majority and Lonzo out for basically a game and a half. Kings, BKN and a couple others trotting out more than a few sophomores on their team.

Anyway, will be cool to win it. Need big scoring numbers from Kuzma and Blue.
 
#50 ·
FUCKING baseball. Kuzma is going to have a role offensively next year!
 
#51 ·
KUZMA!!

He got snubbed on the All Summer League first team, for real.

I'm going to hold on a comparison until he goes at some NBA comp. I mean, there's no way he's this good. No way. He's battled on defense in the post tonight, took on the mid post players from Boston and has switched on guards multiple times. He's gone coast to coast on several occasions, created some easy looks for others, beat bigger players off the dribble and oh yeah, he's been absolutely lights out from 3 pt range on a high volume of shots (over 6 per game).

I'll wait. If he's an elite shooter, that absolutely changes everything and he should've been a lottery pick.
 
#57 ·
I was wondering the same thing. Honestly if Kuzma played half this good I would of been happy, but last night he even proved he could put the ball on the floor. As Van Gundy said if we shot this well in an empty gym it would be impressive. Why is he shooting 10 3s a game and making over half of them?
 
#58 ·
I was a bit worried that perhaps Kuzma was product of Lonzo's passing but he really shut my ass up yesterday. Guy was making it happen all over th floor. Off dribble, catch and shoot, in transition, in the post. Don't think he can can keep up this level of shooting, but his form and release are both excellent so maybe he can?? I'm sure hoping, because with his length and athleticism he can be a matchup nightmare.
 
#59 ·
https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-kyle-kuzma-rising-up-draft-boards/102078154/

"I changed my jump shot up a little bit," Kuzma said. "Being more fluid and more comfortable shooting the ball from the NBA 3. I feel like I'm more comfortable shooting from that 3 than from college 3 right now. A lot of people were surprised, but I really wasn't. I put a lot of work into my game every single day."
That was from 2 months ago. Idk man, he seems so confident. Shot looks pure, nothing I would really change. Range is deep. His release is even fairly quick, especially for a big man.

And again, aside from shooting, he stood out the most of defense, IMO, guarding multiple positions.

Lonzo was a known commodity, but we may very well have found another gem.
 
#67 ·
https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-kyle-kuzma-rising-up-draft-boards/102078154/



That was from 2 months ago. Idk man, he seems so confident. Shot looks pure, nothing I would really change. Range is deep. His release is even fairly quick, especially for a big man.

And again, aside from shooting, he stood out the most of defense, IMO, guarding multiple positions.

Lonzo was a known commodity, but we may very well have found another gem.
I'm totally not getting excited about summer league D. You're playing rookies and guys trying to get a job, coached by assistants with little practice for sets. Offense is a bit different. Shots are shots and moves are moves.
 
#61 ·
yeah, don't want to over-think summer league success but Kuzma dominated - not going to announce him our next 'big game james' but definitely see a potential rotation player on a good team right there - he really showed out this week
 
#63 ·
I think Zumba (Zubac) is adjusting to his new body. Magic said he didnt want anybody in training camp to be over 7-8% bodyfat.....that is REALLY low for an basketball athlete who needs to recover quickly. Bodybuilder start to look shredded at that percentage. It looks like Zubac busted his ass to get to that bodyfat. He looks skinny as fuck out there and he isnt used to it. He is going to get gassed way quicker.

Im hoping they take bodyfat on a case by case basis and figure out what is best for specifically him before training camp. It's clear he is following the Lakers instructions 100%.
 
#70 ·
By biggest concern from watching summer league was in how different the personel of the teams are constructed. Summer league team had a bunch of great shooters and rim runners. Our regular season team has the rim runners, but not great shooters.

We are going to need Randle and Ingram to greatly improve their 3 pt shot, and KCP and BroLo to at least not regress at all in order to make it work.
 
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