Hoosierhoopster

Really too bad about Hayward, awful looking injury and in less than 6 minutes with Boston. Hope he can come back like PG did.

Fully agreed. He is just back up and running after his ACL injury. It's too bad he was hurt (and at one point sick) for much of the limited time he played last year.

That off the dribble move is very much like Kawhi. The comparisons continue. Strong move.

Some Cody Zeller love in Zack Lowe's (espn) 32 crazy NBA predictions: Cody Zeller wins his starting spot back from Dwight Howard Charlotte will resist as long as possible. The Hornets have invested sweat equity in Howard. Steve Clifford loves him. They have concerns about Zeller's ability to bang every night with enemy starting centers. Howard is not the sort of player who offers more value as a reserve, and the Hornets might lose him if they go this route. But it feels kind of inevitable. Zeller is an eager-beaver, rough-housing screen-setter who fits well with Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum. He's faster diving from the arc to the rim than Howard, and has improved his finishing. He will not demand post touches, or pout when he doesn't get them. He can't touch Howard as an individual rebounder, but he's one of those Nene/Roy Hibbert types who boxes out so teammates can get the statistical credit. Charlotte was an elite defensive rebounding team with Zeller, anyway. The Hornets famously plummeted to 3-17 without him last season. That wasn't all about Zeller, obviously. It was about the, umm, quality of his backups, and the rest of a thin roster. But something about his game clicks. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21002422/zach-lowe-32-crazy-nba-predictions-2017-18

Yogi's game last night v. the Hawks, as starting, playing 21 minutes: 5-9 for 11 points, 5 assists (2 TOs), 1 steal, +8 on the night (first among starters). Once again, solid. Dennis Smith starting next to Yogi: 4-9 for 9 points, 3 assists (2 TO's), 1 board in 13 minutes. Should be a fun backcourt to watch.

Awesome to hear. Rooting for OG big time, and if he stays healthy, I do think he can be a really good NBA player. Has all the tools, is very good defensively, and can score from the arc and wing. Will be interesting to see if he develops similar to Kawhi (I don't mean as good as Kawhi but similar player type), to whom he's often been compared.

Good news!

With Seth Curry out indefinitely with a tibia stress injury, Yogi is now expected to start for the Mavs -- http://www.espn.com/blog/nba/rumors/post/_/id/45291/rumor-central-bigger-role-for-yogi-ferrell-with-seth-curry-sidelined Pre-season so far: Game 1 v Bucks: 10 assists, in 16 minutes (!) off the bench GAme 2 v. Bulls: 10 points (4-6), 3 assists, 2 boards in 18 minutes off the bench Game 3 v. Magic: 12 points (4-9), 4 boards, 3 assists, in 15 mins off the bench. Solid.

I think you're going to be really disappointed. The Pacers are a shell of what they were. No way they're a playoff team. I get that people have different opinions about PG, but man he's a legit superstar. No one else on the P's is anywhere near picking up that role, or competing at the top. They're in rebuild mode.

^^ I can't see how the Pacers will be competitive any time soon. Most are projecting the P's as the second to worst, or close to it, team in the NBA next season. Bird really ruined the Pacers. It's such a shame, they had real promise, but he managed to trade away or lose almost everyone, pissed off his key players, and lost the P's franchise player in the process. I'm sorry, but he's truly an idiot, and an incredibly stubborn one at that. Then he ran out the door, knowing that PG was going to leave. Turner might become a legit all star. He has the makings of one, his numbers are certainly there at this stage of his young career. But he is nowhere close to carrying that team as a playoff team. I'm very interested to see how Vic fits in, and whether he can take the next step in his young NBA career to show he can be a consistent, legit high-level NBA player. He was starting to show it, but it didn't work out for him with Westbrook. I don't think he's ready to be a key piece in a contending team, but I do think he has the potential to be one. Maybe a Lou Williams type, or an EJ type down the road (not as a shooter, but comparable impact as a scorer), with the ability to be a good two-way player. Then the P's need more pieces. And probably some luck in the draft. They're rebuilding. Stars don't go to IN to play. They had Reggie, they had PG (and Granger in between), now they'll need a new franchise-level player. I don't think Turner is going to be that player, but I'd love to be wrong. I think they'll need to land a franchise-level player, and grow into a contender again.

There was a lot of talk here that Westbrook, in inking a short-term deal last year, was going to leave the Thunder and that he and PG were likely to the Lakers next summer. Now, with Westbrook inking a 5-year deal, the largest in NBA history, the landscape for next summer just changed and probably significantly. What a development for the Thunder, after so recently losing Durant. PG now saying that Westbrook's decision definitely will play a big role in his decision next summer. Will Melo back off his high ball usage to play more of a facilitator role? Can he be somewhat like Bosh was with Wade and LeBron (different stages of career, but maybe somewhat comparable to how to succeed)? How will "I have to be the Man" Kyrie do, and Hayward in Boston? Will they be better, or worse, or end up basically the same? How important was IT to Boston's success? How is IT's hip? How will he do in Cleveland, and what kind of role and impact will Wade play now that he's rejoined LeBron? Will Wade be the man off the bench, or will he demand a starting role? Or will Rose be the backup point with IT starting at as primary handler? Will that team be better or worse after Kyrie? And what about CPIII with Harden and the Rockets? Will CPIII move to more of a shooting guard role, or will Harden slide back? Which one of them can play less with the ball in their hands? My pick there - CPIII, don't think Harden can relinquish his demand to have the ball in his hands particularly in the 4th, but we'll see. Will that work out? Are the Rockets now ready to challenge the Warriors? Can anyone actually challenge the Warriors? Will the Spurs somehow remain a top 3-5 team despite that seemingly bad off-season, or will they now drop a bit? Can Pop work his usual magic? What about Butler and company in Minn? Is that team now ready to challenge for top 5-10 in the League? Is Lonzo Ball going to show he can develop a consistent shot at the NBA level, or will his weird and low shot form catch up to him? Will the Lakers under Magic start to show that showtime play again, with Ball, or is this all more form over substance? Can the Lakers lure PG and possibly LeBron next season? Really interesting season coming

Heard this interview, quoted here -- PG and Melo were part of a done deal to Cleveland, for draft night, but then got called off on draft night -- appears Cleveland pulled the plug. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20848842/carmelo-anthony-talks-oklahoma-city-thunder-trade-nixed-houston-rockets-cleveland-cavaliers-swaps

heard about that move earlier today, immediate reaction: wow! then I started thinking about it. Melo's headed towards the end of his career, and doesn't play D. I don't think this is a good move in the direction of keeping PG, and Kanter can play. It is definitely a good move to get people in the seats -- PG, Westbrook and Melo together should create some fire power -- but then Melo also wants the ball in his hands, and good question about the chemistry. Westbrook and PG would be largely dominating possessions, adding Melo.... Will be interesting to see if / how they gel.

Groundhog Day, vbg

^^ Yeah those are such great rankings all around, I'm sure you agree with all of them. "Since 2012-13, the only perimeter player with more defensive win shares is two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard." Butler at 11. Draymond at 10. Naah.

^^ They've updated with their top 51-75. EJ in at #62, and then they add Lonzo Ball, another rookie yet to play a single league game, at #63, These ranking guys are just laughable. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/nbarank5175/nbarank-players-51-75

^^ As an aside, it's ridiculous for them to rank rookies like Fultz. Hasn't played a single NBA game and they rank him among the top 100 NBA players? Just stupid.

Until this past year! 6th man of the year, finally got through a whole year healthy, and coming off the bench as a gunner really benefited his game. He was huge for Houston, and he should have the same role and impact next season -- it's good to see him finally shine at the level he's been capable of, and it's largely because he managed to stay healthy.

Bloomington HS North

^^ Used to play some FIFA. It's a really well done game. 2K is great

^^ Cool, Kodos. If I played the NCAA games I'd get on board.

It's kind of funny to be 'gaming,' especially online, at my age, but then gaming is basically ageless. I play The Division pretty regularly with a group of guys (who range in age from 20 to 50), the character building, equipment, weapon and mod builds within the dark zone and mission environments is entertaining. Anyone here play Division? Or what games do you play?

^^ yeah we've had bugs galore as we (HF) work to get it up and running. but the product is coming together. thanks for your patience!

^^ Gleas in the House -- Welcome BG

^^ It's hard to tell whether either team will be noticeably better. I think Cleveland got the better end of the deal, particularly for the possibility of convincing LeBron to stay, assuming the rumors are true. Crowder helps with D, and is solid, IT will score it probably at about the same rate as Irving though how he adjusts to being a significantly second fiddle to LeBron remains to be seen, and LeBron will take a lot of ball usage that IT is used to. Still, he can shoot and score, and he's unselfish. I tend to think he'll do well with LeBron, we'll see. Meanwhile, Kyrie left to be The Man, to a team that has been a unified team-first group, and the C's have in the past few trades lost some D and their rebounding is a question mark. I think Cleveland remains handily the better team, but then, I thought the Rockets would stink under D'Antonio, so who knows. Kyrie sure put the pressure on himself, leaving LeBron when Kyrie just had his best numbers ever -- BECAUSE he was playing with LeBron. I think it was a stupid move on his part, and he didn't do jack before LeBron joined him, but time will tell.