All Things Biggie

[e_blazer]

I had a Corvette with about 430 hp and 400 ft-lbs of torque. I also have a diesel truck with 360 hp and 800 ft-lbs of torque. They both have power, but use it very differently.

If Vonleh had Biggie's brain and drive, then he would be the far better player. As it is, I think they each have their strengths.

I think that's true. The difference is that there are times when Vonleh is on the court where he just kind of disappears in the action. I haven't seen that happen yet with Biggie.

 

[Reep]

I think that's true. The difference is that there are times when Vonleh is on the court where he just kind of disappears in the action. I haven't seen that happen yet with Biggie.

If Swanigan does beat out Vonleh it will be for that reason--and his passing. I still see Swanigan as the best backup for Nurkic. I think you could plug him in most of the same sets and the only difference would be reduced shot blocking on defense.

 

[BBert]

What a time to be alive for basketball stat junkies.

http://stats.nba.com/articles/#!/statistical-nuggets-from-day-11-of-las-vegas-summer-league/

Hey, this is probably why we lost that game!

Jeezus Christ. They couldn't write that article without mentioning Lonzo Fucking Ball? Really? It's an article about the importance of contesting shots in last night's championship game. HE DIDN'T EVEN PLAY IN THE FUCKING GAME! They didn't even insinuate he was good at contesting shots. Just had to throw his name in there. Is there some kind of league mandate that all articles about basketball HAVE to mention Lonzo Ball? WTF??

 

[TBpup]

I think that's true. The difference is that there are times when Vonleh is on the court where he just kind of disappears in the action. I haven't seen that happen yet with Biggie.

Part of that is because Biggie was a focal point of theSL offense and the Blazers haven't run a play for Vonleh in 2 years. Not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

 

[BBert]

What a time to be alive for basketball stat junkies.

http://stats.nba.com/articles/#!/statistical-nuggets-from-day-11-of-las-vegas-summer-league/

Hey, this is probably why we lost that game!

It's definitely why we lost the game. They were wide open all night, especially late in the game. Either because we didn't fully contest the shot, or we didn't cover the open man, or their guards put pressure on the defense creating wide open shots. Our guard/wing play was our Achilles heel, and we got exposed, plus our bigs were too slow to contest away from the basket.

 

[e_blazer]

Part of that is because Biggie was a focal point of theSL offense and the Blazers haven't run a play for Vonleh in 2 years. Not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

That's fair as far as called plays go, but I think that Swanigan works harder doing the grunt work of rebounding and hustle. But I'm looking forward to seeing how this matchup plays out in training camp. Assuming, of course, that Vonleh doesn't end up being include in a trade deal.

 

[Scalma]

That's fair as far as called plays go, but I think that Swanigan works harder doing the grunt work of rebounding and hustle. But I'm looking forward to seeing how this matchup plays out in training camp. Assuming, of course, that Vonleh doesn't end up being include in a trade deal.

Swanigan is going to take Vonlehs job, and soul.

 

[blue9]

The only thing that concerns me about Biggie is his ability to guard todays forwards. You have to love his skill set....ESPECIALLY at 26.

Who is there at PF that poses so much of a problem?

 

[Scalma]

With five double-doubles in seven games, Trail Blazers rookie forward Caleb Swanigan had more double-doubles than any other player in the Las Vegas Summer League, capping it off with 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in Monday's championship loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. By averaging a double-double of 16.1 points and 10.1 rebounds in Vegas, Swanigan became just the fourth rookie to do so at Summer League, joining the likes of Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and Marreese Speights.

When told of the feat, and asked if it held any value, Swanigan simply responded:

"No. Keep working."

 

[H.C.]

Didn't say there was anything wrong with the comparison to Brand. I just found the response to his specific critique odd, given the logical conclusion to which your response led.

If you're going to give your opinion on a public forum, you might consider being less sensitive about disagreement.

So because I said I wasn't going to bother defending the comp, it makes me sensitive.
Insert jennifer lawrence meme here.

It's funny how this forum is so consistent with projecting emotions onto other posters.

 

[Scalma]

I think the concerns about his defense on the perimeter is a little overblown. Watching the game again and he got beat mainly by guards. Most bigs will get beat by guards. He got beat by Kuzma but he also stayed with him a couple times. Hes never going to be a Draymond, but he'll do just enough to not be a liability. No different than Zbo. I like the idea of him at center, especially in our system where he can just sag back and not worry about getting switched onto a guard or wing. He handled Zubac rather well and that's a big boy.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

So because I said I wasn't going to bother defending the comp, it makes me sensitive.
Insert jennifer lawrence meme here.

It's funny how this forum is so consistent with projecting emotions onto other posters.

If you can't see how obvious your defensiveness was, nothing I can say will help you see it. Nevertheless, I stand by my suggestion.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I think the concerns about his defense on the perimeter is a little overblown. Watching the game again and he got beat mainly by guards. Most bigs will get beat by guards. He got beat by Kuzma but he also stayed with him a couple times. Hes never going to be a Draymond, but he'll do just enough to not be a liability. No different than Zbo. I like the idea of him at center, especially in our system where he can just sag back and not worry about getting switched onto a guard or wing. He handled Zubac rather well and that's a big boy.

Portland ZBo was a poor defender. Couldn't agree more about him playng the 5

 

[H.C.]

If you can't see how obvious your defensiveness was, nothing I can say will help you see it. Nevertheless, I stand by my suggestion.

If you say so.

 

[Scalma]

Portland ZBo was a poor defender. Couldn't agree more about him playng the 5

My point was Randolph carved out a long, successful career despite obvious shortcomings defensively. You could say he was helped by Gasol, but Swanigan will also have an anchor behind him in Nurkic (and Collins compliments him as well)

 

[BBert]

Portland ZBo was a poor defender. Couldn't agree more about him playng the 5

One thing I remember about Zach was how he'd get set up to set a screen, but then he'd roll too soon, which forced the guard to give him the ball every time. I'm not sure I ever noticed him set an actual pick, LOL. (Admittedly, I don't have a photographic memory.)

 

[Minstrel]

One thing I remember about Zach was how he'd get set up to set a screen, but then he'd roll too soon, which forced the guard to give him the ball every time. I'm not sure I ever noticed him set an actual pick, LOL. (Admittedly, I don't have a photographic memory.)

Well, that is a common technique--it's called slipping the screen. You set up as if you're going to screen but when the defense moves to be ready for the screen, you roll instead of screening, hopefully wrong-footing the defender who's chasing you. Whether that was what Portland asked Randolph to do or whether he was doing that on his own is another question.

 

[BBert]

Well, that is a common technique--it's called slipping the screen. You set up as if you're going to screen but when the defense moves to be ready for the screen, you roll instead of screening, hopefully wrong-footing the defender who's chasing you. Whether that was what Portland asked Randolph to do or whether he was doing that on his own is another question.

Yeah. I started to get the feeling it was Randolph, and he wanted the ball, period. Don't know though, obviously. He was damn efficient once he got it, I'll give him that.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Uber drivers are reporting a big increase in fares trying to get around Biggies screens.

 

[Reep]

Biggie looked good on the PnR in summer league, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what he could do while playing with some very good PnR guards--unlike summer league.

 

[Binx]

You can't have people say it's just summer league when someone struggles on one hand and then praise a summer league performance on the other.

When you draft a player in the first round you expect him to do pretty well in summer league. Does that mean his performance will translate to the NBA? Not necessarily. But you still expect him to play pretty well--and you know he has a CHANCE to duplicate that performance in the regular season.

A first-round pick who struggles in summer league, however, is a different story. It is the first sign that he MAY struggle in the NBA because it is the first time he is facing better competition than what he saw in college.

So . . . That's the way I look at it. Your draft pick plays well in summer league, no surprise. Your draft pick plays poorly, there MAY be reason for concern.

Obviously, there are exceptions to every rule. I'm hoping that Zach Collins is an exception in this summer league.

For those who study these things, I'd be interested in hearing about any good NBA players who had a horrible summer league. Please share if you are aware of any. I'm sure there must be some.

 

[Boob-No-More]

So . . . That's the way I look at it. Your draft pick plays well in summer league, no surprise. Your draft pick plays poorly, there MAY be reason for concern.

Obviously, there are exceptions to every rule. I'm hoping that Zach Collins is an exception in this summer league.

For those who study these things, I'd be interested in hearing about any good NBA players who had a horrible summer league. Please share if you are aware of any. I'm sure there must be some.

KAT has already been mentioned. He was godawful his first two games (as was Collins - at least on offense), but turned it around a little after that.

Westbrook was nothing special during summer league. He was WAY, WAY, WAY outplayed by Bayless, but was also outplayed by a lot of other lesser players. Steph Curry didn't suck, but again, he was outplayed by lots of lesser players, both teammates and opponents. Of course, Nic Batum looked totally lost and clueless in summer league, but was a full time NBA starter on opening night of his rookie year.

I'm sure there are many more, but those are just a few that come to mind.

BNM

 

[Mediocre Man]

When you draft a player in the first round you expect him to do pretty well in summer league. Does that mean his performance will translate to the NBA? Not necessarily. But you still expect him to play pretty well--and you know he has a CHANCE to duplicate that performance in the regular season.

A first-round pick who struggles in summer league, however, is a different story. It is the first sign that he MAY struggle in the NBA because it is the first time he is facing better competition than what he saw in college.

So . . . That's the way I look at it. Your draft pick plays well in summer league, no surprise. Your draft pick plays poorly, there MAY be reason for concern.

Obviously, there are exceptions to every rule. I'm hoping that Zach Collins is an exception in this summer league.

For those who study these things, I'd be interested in hearing about any good NBA players who had a horrible summer league. Please share if you are aware of any. I'm sure there must be some.

Exactly.

 

[Mediocre Man]

KAT has already been mentioned. He was godawful his first two games (as was Collins - at least on offense), but turned it around a little after that.

Westboork was nothing special during summer league. He was WAY, WAY, WAY outplayed by Bayless, but was also outplayed by a lot of other lesser players. Steph Curry didn't suck, but again, he was outplayed by lots of lesser players, both teammates and opponents. Of course, Nic Batum looked totally lost and clueless in summer league, but was a full time NBA starter on opening night of his rookie year.

I'm sure there are many more, but those are just a few that come to mind.

BNM

Exactly. All I did was mention my concern for his play. Then the flood gates opened

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Exactly. All I did was mention my concern for his play. Then the flood gates opened

People really need to relax. Summer league posts don't matter. Let's wait and see how you post during pre-season.

 

[Mediocre Man]

People really need to relax. Summer league posts don't matter. Let's wait and see how you post during pre-season.

Nice