He'd almost have to be since he sucks at baseball.

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The "Paw" drops a cool 30 in NBA Summer League action
https://youtu.be/sHLoTub1QuU

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Summer League

Fantastic!

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Patrick williams is gonna be great. Its not like anyone thought lebron was good when he was 19

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

you put any stock in the performance of non rookies in Summer League? I personally don't. IMO, anyone who has had a year of pro basketball should dominate Summer League without difficulty.

I put more stock in it when a 2nd year pro struggles in SL as opposed to doing well.

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Welp LeBron was on ESPN in high school….I think we all thought he was good.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

This is sarcasm, right?

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He is still just 19 (for about another week anyway) I agree that 2nd year guys should play better but he didn't have a Summer League last season.

I just wanted to see how he would look as the featured guy and he didn't disappoint. The kid has game. He will look a lot better being surrounded by better players this season.

And considering that he was still one of the youngest players in Vegas his performance has to count for something.

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that's true, didn't realize he was so young.

definitely a good sign that he can dominate Vegas as a 2nd year. Like I said, there are plenty of guys who don't.

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I also think Donovan has to do a better job of using him this year also. He'd stash him in the corner and have him wait for kickout passes from 3 all game long. But with Chuckers like White, Lavine, Markannen, Valentine, and Vuk most times those passes aren't going to come.

As the coach he has to do a better job of calling the kid's number and so far he hasn't.

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Gonna be even harder to get his number called this year with Derozan there as well. Vuc, Lavine, Derozen. That's 3 big time all star scorers right there.

Williams best hope may be getting out and runnnig cause Lonzo will definitely find him if he does.

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First World Problems...

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I think DeRozan will be the facilitator on the half court offense, Lonzo on the run and gun. Coaching will be key this year.

Yep. Derozan will be the 1 in most situations. Lonzo is nil save for being a spot up shooter in half court situations. Crazy as it sounds.

When it comes to end of shot clock situations they aren't going to depend on Lonzo to make plays.

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Link, what is the ceiling for Paw?

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Hawaii (fuck) You

yep in half court Lonzo's best role is sitting in the corner waiting for 3s. He's actually turned into a pretty good catch and shoot 3pt shooter which is a testament to how much he must work on his game.

On the other hand, he still can't operate in the half court and has no idea how to finish in the lane which is a testament to how much he must not work on his game.

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The biggest problem with his game is that he can't beat people 1 on 1 in the half court. He doesn't make the defense move at all. He doesn't make enough plays for other people. Which strangely enough is what he was touted to be when he first entered the league.


I think the Bulls are banking on him getting wide open jump shots due to playing with their version of the big 3.
They figure that they will draw so much attention that they can spot him up for open jump shots.

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and the reason he can't beat guys 1v1 is because he doesn't know or understand how to change direction and speed. He only plays at 100mph, doesn't matter if he is in the full or half court. That doesn't work in the halfcourt. If you put your head down at the top of the key and do a straight line drive with no cross over even the worst defense in the NBA is going to have a big easily slide over and contest the drive. He doesn't understand that the only way you get to the hole is by changing speed/direction on the way there.

Trae figured it out. When he comes over a screen he hesitates and lets the defender catch up so he can trap him on his hip which stops the defender's momentum, and then he explodes to the hoop or shoots the floater. Lonzo worked on his jumper with great results. He needs to work on this part of his game just as much and so far I haven't seen much improvement.

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Ball's biggest problem is that he doesn't really have a game. That coupled with the fact that he is an average athlete at best are the biggest reasons that he will never be all that good.
The biggest indictment of him as a player happened when it came out that they placed the proverbial "Bull in a China Shop" Zion at the 1 and played him off the ball.
I see the same thing happening with the Bulls also. Derozan, Lavine, and even Vuk will orchestrate as much or more of the offense than he will.
I'm actually pulling for him as a Bulls fan. If he is good then the Bulls will be really good.

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This made me curious as to what scouts had to say before he was drafted.

Lonzo Ball NBA Draft Scouting Report
January 18, 2016 by NBA Draft Room
6-6 – PG – UCLA

Tall, broad shouldered point guard with great physical tools and high basketball I.Q. An elite passer with other-worldly court vision.

Pros
Has prototypical size, athletic ability and skill level for a point guard. He changes ends of the floor like a greyhound and is an exceptionally quick and bouncy athlete. Does a great job of pushing the pace and turning the game into a track meet.

Ball’s passing ability sets him apart. He has elite vision and an uncanny way of setting up teammates for the open shot. His pass-ahead ability is unique, and is on par with D’Angelo Russell and Ben Simmons.

Ball is a physically imposing guard who can out muscle most other point guards and out run everyone on the court. He has the physical ability to develop into an NBA all star and he has the court awareness and basketball I.Q. of a future NBA great.

Although his jump shot has more funk than George Clinton, he makes a high percentage and has shown legit NBA range. His step back shooting ability allows him to get his shot off just about any time he wants. Ball also shows a nice ability to penetrate the lane and hit acrobatic shots in traffic. His court awareness, length and leaping ability make him dangerous on backdoor lobs and he can finish with highlight reel dunks.

He is an active defender who plays the passing lanes well and has great instincts, showing the ability to anticipate his opponents movements.

His most valuable quality is the pace at which he plays the game; always pushing the tempo and controlling the flow of action. He should be a difference-maker from day one in the NBA.

Cons
Isn’t the smoothest shooter and has a low, awkward release on his shot, which makes it difficult for him to shoot off the dribble.

Is a below average free throw shooter for a point guard, hitting below 70% from the line.

Doesn’t do much in the mid range and doesn’t have a great back to the basket game.

Comparisons
Reminds of a taller Jason Kidd with a little Penny Hardaway in his game. Or a mix of Jason Kidd and Zach LaVine.

Projection: top 4 in the 2017 NBA Draft

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

I wonder which service that was. That particular scouting report was terrible

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Lonzo most likely will bring the ball up and hand of to either DDR or Zach. I think both DDR and Vuc will "create" most of the offense they will pas out of collapsing defenses and get Zach his open looks or backdoor dunks for PWill. Lonzo will run the breaks of course but DDR will be the main guy in the half court. It is exactly what he did with the Spurs last year.

Agreed. Lonzo will not be counted on to create plays all that much. He will be an extra facilitator as opposed to the primary facilitator on offense The good thing about this year's team is that the Bulls will have 5 guys (in theory) that can make plays on offense.

Their defense will be porous but the league is so skewed toward offense these days that it will not matter as much as it ordinarily would.

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honestly, Lonzo is here to cover Zach's D on the permitter and to make sure he doesn't have to bring the ball up court, also hit the occasional 3. He will be minimized as a scorer, which I think is AOK by him. I expect DDR to play the Harden role with BKN where he plays with the second unit as the primary scorer too. That being said we are going to see a lot of 3 guard lineups and no one (Zach) should be too tired from carrying the team to play defense. In fairness to Zach his man defense is passable but his team defense still needs lots of work. Hopefully he can focus in on that because he won't have to handle, create and make all the shots now. Williams needs to focus on defense and learn footwork from DDR. Take his open looks and hone that skill, seriously DDr has some amazing footwork and P Will has none so I hope he learns from him.

Donovan has to give Williams a little more freedom on offense. I can see him playing a ton with the 2nd unit for that very reason. He will start him and then stagger his minutes so that he can be a focal point with the second unit.

The Bulls now have 3 guys (maybe 4 with Williams) that can get their own shot whereas last year they really only had one with Lavine. That will make a huge difference. It is going to be tough to key on Lavine now. They also have 3-4 guys that can make plays for others. Vuk is a good passer. So is Derozan as are Lavine and Ball. The Ball movement will be much better because you don't have ball stopping guys like White dominating the ball as much this year. Should be fun to watch.

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Could, the word is could be fun to watch. Lonzo falls into slumps, Lavine does dumb shit at the worst times, DeRozan might not be all that, And PW is 20. And no one really knows if Donovan is a top flite coach. They could be 4th or 5th or they could be a play-in with a terrible to mediocre future

Not enough food to feed everyone on this team.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

You forgot Vukevic. They aren't counting on Ball (though MANY here apparently are) to be special. They are banking on him being a noticeable upgrade over Jackson Park YMCA All Star Coby White. And he will be.

Ball just has to demonstrate that he is a legitimate starting caliber NBA guard. The ship has sailed on him being "that dude".

They are banking on their "Big 3" to carry the team. Though they aren't on the level of some other big 3's that you will find around the league they are good to very good players individually. Williams doesn’t have to be All Star level good this year. He does have a chance to be given overall game though. If he does then they get really interesting really fast.

Donovan has proven to be a good NBA coach. What he did with OKC a couple of years ago verifies this

AK just has to shore up the bench and they will be fine.

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Lavine's efficiency was way up last year... now with better scorers and ball handlers you will see less Lavine - Hero Ball. That was the whole point of the build of this team. Vuc can carry the offense if need be, DDR can also and they both can facilitate. No one is expecting Ball to be an all star or the likes, he simply is the upgrade of Satoransky and a legitimate starter. Wing defense and bringing the ball up are his main jobs. Williams... well the Jury is way out on him for sure. I am with you I am not sure what Billy is, I mean this team has a vision now, we will see if it is one that works

This is going to be the opposite of what we have seen from Chicago Teams. This will be all offense and no defense. Not saying it will or won't work, that will prove itself out, but it will be a completely different look. Down with the GarPax era. Michael just went opposite of Jerry in a a lot of ways.