Proudfeet

Didn't LeBron already sign an extension with the Lakers? Not like he's becoming a free agent this year anyway.

Yes, Holmgren was the second pick and Wembanyama was still the overwhelming preseason favourite. These are all known factors that haven't and wouldn't change. As it appears that I have problems understanding, can you just answer with yes/no. Was Wembanyama the preseason favourite or not?

Not American, and can you blame me given how your only response is his stats and how he's so disadvantaged given his background with nothing on how he actually plays? What's wrong with it? Are you denying that Wembanyama was the preseason favourite now? The only thing that has changed since then is that the games have been played. His background hasn't changed.

Yeah, and Holmgren wasn't the number one pick while Wembanyama was projected to go first immediately after they finished with the 2022 draft and there was zero ambiguity over where he would be drafted. As far as preseason, he was the runaway favourite. This different rules, new country and lifestyle aren't new details. The uptick in his stats is probably because the Spurs have finally committed to playing him at center full time and also given up on Sochan at point guard and put Jones in. No idea what Popovich was thinking. Regardless, you can't just assume linear progression. Players will have their ups and downs. Separate from this discussion, for someone who doesn't watch basketball, you sure make a lot of comments on how players look physically.

What do you mean understandable/obvious considering their respective backgrounds? The most hyped rookie for at least a decade or two (Holmgren was only the second pick last year by the way) is supposed to be an underdog? Wembanyama was the favourite coming into the season. Their positions reversed because of their play. I don't know where your confidence that Wembanyama will continue improving at the same rate comes from either. For the fourth time, have you actually seen him play?

Nice try. It's not "19 year old who is playing a new style of basketball" but "I don't understand why Holmgren is current rookie of the year favourite". And no, its not insane considering how much his team is feeding him, rebounds are not all equal and he has more turnovers than assists. I'll give you the blocks. For the third time, can you just tell me if you have actually seen him outside of highlights?

And I said you don't get to wipe out his previous games. Unfortunately I only found the season stats for distance, and its okay, not incredible. Holmgren is shooting 54% for the season, by the way. Not sure what your second part has to do with the ROTY award either. I don't have a hard on for him, I've brought him up once the entire season before this. I just disagree that he is this "fucking insane" player that you seem to think he is. And perhaps you may actually answer my question if you actually saw him play outside of highlights?

His shooting is not okay. It's not just his three point percentage. For the season, he's shooting 76% at the rim, and his total field goal percentage is 46%. His shot selection is horrid. He frequently picks up his dribble early, and then forces a jump shot and he's not making many of them. Don't think he has many post moves either. He's not able to pivot around or back people down. Personally, haven't actually seen much of Holmgren. He looked good I guess, but its more that I'm very unimpressed by Wembanyama. Think ROTY is exempt. Its only for MVP and All-NBA if I'm not wrong.

First, you can't just wipe out all the previous games. Second, have you actually seen Wembanyama play outside of highlights? He really isn't all that yet. His ceiling looks great, but his base is kind of average. Statistically, he can't shoot but he insists on doing it a lot and is also averaging more turnovers than assists. For all the shit you all gave Draymond for shooting threes at 30% at less than 2 attempts a game, Wembanyama is shooting 29% at 5 attempts a game. Third, Holmgren has an advantage with having a better team to set him up which makes things easier for him. Wembanyama has an advantage where he gets the ball more which helps with his totals. Not sure which is better, but its something else to consider.

Not sure I got my point across. Was late to the discussion on ROE and civilian casualties, but its more wondering if just being in the area is enough to be a threat that needs to be killed. Possibility of ambush seems like a catch all.

ROE for the IDF: Topless people waving a white flag approaching them = possibility of an ambush = within ROE. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-troops-killed-hostages-mistaking-their-cries-help-ambush-military-2023-12-28/ If this is okay, what else is? What wouldn't be?

Ah, that was more directed at the translation in general. Diaries is not that far off, but just feels overly localised. I guess having different titles makes it less confusing. Pace is one thing, but what I found interesting was the contrast on how the same story can be presented slightly differently with the different emphasis on details or omissions or expressions.

Diaries? What's wrong with monologue or mumblings? Anyway, wanted to ask if you read both serialisations of the manga. It makes for an interesting comparison, with how the same story is portrayed differently with the same medium.

Sports betting was formally legalised a few years back and they are now present in the broadcasts as official partners with their logos on some equipment and broadcasters reading advertisements for them. Not sure what the before and after difference is for betters and sportsbooks though.

It's a hard job but yeah, there are games where it is really glaring. I think the worst that can happen to them is that they don't get to work the bigger games in the playoffs. But then again, you only have that same pool of referees and Scott Foster is still working games with Chris Paul.

Putting the number of games suspended aside, what is this complete lack of transparency from the league? What do they mean by indefinite? Could they not have at least specified a minimum number of games? What are the conditions for reinstatement? On what basis are they determining if it is or isn't sufficient? The only thing we know is he has to undergo counselling.

Its not just that it is more hype than reality, it is also ridiculously pervasive. Even common household electronics with basic functions from toasters to washing machines are now advertised as coming with AI. I wouldn't be surprised if a basic timer to put an appliance to standby mode counts as well. As far as the actual futuristic hype goes, I'll believe it when I see it. Its simpler if you can narrow the scope sufficiently, but every additional variable compounds the difficulty in making it achievable.

Most of those are basically trivia. Not any different from the latest combination of points/assists/rebs/steals/blocks since x player. My personal favourite is youngest player to achieve something when there is a hard limit on when players are eligible to join and when the season starts and ends. Too bad for you if you were born at the end of the school year or if you can't join from high school.

Putting the IDF aside, I don't think being a "professional army" makes them particularly trustworthy. If I recall correctly, there are recent court cases in the AU/UK where their special forces in Afghanistan just executed people and planted evidence, and the military police who came to investigate just took their word for it. And them being military shields them from the regular court system as well.

Isn't that standard for most rookies, especially the one and dones though? Ausar Thompson, the outstanding defensive rookie shared above needs to as well. Think its just a time/age thing. Unless there is something special about Giannis's trainer?

Agreed. There's a lot to learn and he's still young. And generally, I find that players who sat their first year due to injury seem more immediately ready to contribute than the newly drafted rookies. Not sure how Holmgrem is doing so far, but I thought that players like Griffin benefited from that year off. Re: Thompson twins. They are actually from Overtime Elite. Sorry for the mistake, but think they are essentially the same. Thanks for the background explanation of the team.

The thing is, from where I'm standing, the expectations for Wembanyama are much higher than that. I'm not expecting him to hit the ground running from the first game, but I thought he'd be further ahead given the hype and his resume, having played professionally and being on the national team. As I said, he looks really raw. It doesn't even look like he has a basic go to move. It's not like he's Thabeet or anything, but so far all he has going for him is his length and relatively good athleticism. I'm not saying he's going to be a bust, he'll probably become a lot better just bulking up slightly, but he looks more like a fresh graduate with good academic qualifications than a seasoned middle manager. Also, the Spurs might not be good, especially with Vassell out, but they generally look more fluent without Wembanyama. I don't know if its a coaching issue, but it looks really stilted when he is in. And I don't know why he's on the perimeter most of the time. Feels like he can be a little closer to the basket even when Collins is in. @Arakasi Wilbur has already shared that on the previous page. Not sure if the Thompson twins are going to develop their shot anytime soon when they spent the past year doing that. Or maybe the shooting coaches on the Ignite are just terrible?

I'm struggling to see what the hype over Wembanyama is about. Its still early, but he looks really raw considering his hype and resume. Honestly, at this point, I think the Spurs are better without him. Especially if they insist on playing him on the perimeter.

What I'm reading is that Ty Lue wants him to be more selfish and be himself. Seems like what they want is his peak. Apparently they didn't learn anything from the Lakers a couple of years ago.

Eh, his logic is pretty heavy on hindsight as well. Think is it still focusing on what rather than why and how. You're not going to get good shots just by passing across the court. You need to draw defenders first. And how do you do that? I mean, he's not wrong. The Mitchell and Gobert Jazz did nothing but cross court passes that remarkably didn't result in many turnovers and became the number one offense, but they also collapsed in the playoffs. Also, a solid part of that number one offense is due entirely to Mitchell heroics. I think that teams should play to their strengths. Its ultimately just resource management. Whether you get space from a cross court pass or if you clear one side of the court for your star player to work one on one, you should lean on the one that most reliably gets your results and be ready to adapt if it doesn't. Not to mention that sometimes it just comes down to shot making. That same career and season 30% player that you deliberately leave open might air ball open corner threes and shoot 15-20% one night and make 70% of the same shots the next. It evens out in the long run, but in single games or even a short series, a hot streak might be all it takes for an upset.