re: Official Game Thread - PELS vs Lakers - (4th Q) ESPN

The weaknesses that were clear in college were clear last night. For those re-watching, watch his handle with his left hand. It's terrible. It was terrible in Oklahoma. He also loses the ball very easily whenever he gets into traffic

I liked his passing instincts, but hated his off ball defense instincts. Long story short- It's gonna take a while. But anybody who knows how the NBA works should have known that already. The people projected 16-18 a game for his rookie year were just setting themselves up for disappointment. He might become that guy by the second half of his second season, but no sooner. That's just how the NBA works.

His deficiencies are clear, but they are fixable. It will just take some time.

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It's not worth re watching

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I probably won't watch the whole thing but I'm almost through the 1st quarter and I love what I'm seeing from el Diablo. Considering how raw he's supposed to be he seems pretty fundamentally sound, seeing lots of block outs, he's keeping a hand on Zubac to know where he is while he's keeping his head on a swivel to defend the lane. Very active and alert and seemed to be in the right place a lot of the time. He almost made several plays like rebounds, the kind of plays you'd expect him to complete when he's stronger and more experienced. He had a nice sequence where he defended against a driving guard at the rim and then was quick enough to turn around and block Zubac once he got the ball. He also looks like he can be a big capable of knocking down open 15 foot jumpers. If he gets strong enough I could definitely see him as a nice big next to AD.

I think he can push the ball in transition a little better, and I also expect him to hit the offensive glass a little more effectively, if the staff let's him. I think that by the second half of his second year and/or by his third year, he could be far better than Gordon ever was here. But it will take some time

I still have hope but all the problems I was worried about with Buddy he showed with Struggling to create space to get his own shot, dribbling, and shot selection. Hopefully this was just an off game.

His right hand is fine. His left hand is so loose. It's just terrible; no way to sugarcoat it. I remember one play where he got a rebound and pushed it with his right hand, and his handle looked great. Then, a defender stepped in front of him and he switched to his left and it looked like a 4th grader dribbling.

If a team is really smart, they will close out hard on him to his right side, so if he does put the ball on the floor, it will be with his left hand. He won't become a real all around threat until that left hand improves by 300%.

But if you watched Hield in college, there were two ways he got his shots that he didn't get last night - in transition and after offensive rebounds. In this situations, he was lethal. His defender lost him for a split second, and that is all he needed. He didn[t get any of those opportunities last night. I have no doubt he will get some once he is playing with real NBA players like Babbitt, not scrubs like Minnereth

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If a team is really smart, they will close out hard on him to his right side, so if he does put the ball on the floor, it will be with his left hand. He won't become a real all around threat until that left hand improves by 300%.

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With his legendary work ethic I fully expect to hear stories of him walking around town dribbling a ball. I'm not kidding, some coach needs to make this happen.

What'd you think of Diallo? I've only finished the first half, and some of this is probably low expectations, but I was impressed. He was physical with Zubac and didn't get thrown around like a rag doll even though he's got a few inches and 40 pounds on him. Zubac is just a rookie too, but Diallo held his own enough that maybe he's not 2-3 years of weight gain away from making the rotation?

I took a lot more away with Diallo than Hield. I think Diallo can be something special once he learns to keep his hands up and assert himself more. He can run like a gazelle and has a decent jump shot.

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"I gotta smile after shooting the ball like that. 5-20? That's horrible. I had some good looks; I took some tough looks. The game is a lot faster than I thought it would be...It's something that I can learn from. That's what Summer League is for, for me to get better." That's the right approach, so don't try and read any more into one meaningless performance on what appears to be a questionably constructed team. The fans in the arena and those watching from home would have preferred a better result, but to echo Buddy, "It is what it is."

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TBW recap

I was impressed with Diallo. He really starting to get confindence in the 2nd half. Once he gets stronger and more reps I think he could be a very solid player. I saw a few rebounds where he was just jump over the guy blocking out and grab the rebound.

I felt Buddy got the "Welcome to the NBA" treatment. Plus D'Angelo looked like an All Star last night and this is he 2nd year.

People saying that what they were worried about with Buddy showed last night. Of course it did because the defense was consintraiting on Buddy. That is not going to happen in the regular season.

I likes how he rebounded and he had some real nice passes that would have been assist if the guy he was passing to was not a scrub. But I liked how he was looking.

Also Buddy was wide open a few times and our guard missed him or got it to him late.

The bug white guy on the Lakers Sabu(sp) looked good.