Gm 46 - 01/17/17: Nuggets at Lakers at GAME THREAD

[Julius Russell]

The kids have hit a wall.

I still think D Angelo didn't pace himself starting from the off season.
He and Randle seem to feed off one another.
Also we are developing Ingram and now Zubac and seeing returns.
Meanwhile Deng and Nance do little things and tangible things to push us a bit.

Considering the absence of those two and the inefficient play of Russell and Randle to be in that game late is actually a bit encouraging.
Denver is not a team if young scrubs.

[KobeMVP888]

My expectations for Russell are much higher than Randle's being he was the #2 pick ...

That's not fair to him because the Lakers picked him when they could have selected a different player. Look at prior #2s: Forget Ingram for the moment because we don't know what will become of him, but Jabari Parker (2014) is now starting to play well, Victor Oladipo (2013) is a Good, not Great, player, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2012) is no star, Derrick Williams (2011) stinks, Evan Turner (2010) has never amounted to much, Hasheem Thabeet (2009) was a complete bust, Michael Beasley (2008) has been a huge disappointment, Kevin Durant (2007) is Great, LaMarcus Aldridge (2006) panned out, Marvin Williams (2005) has been just OK, Emeka Okfor (2004) was decent, but is gone now, Darko Milicic (2003) was a bust, Jay Williams (2002) never made it, Tyson Chandler (2001) has been solid, but not a star, and Stromile Swift (2000) was pretty much a bust.

So there's your elite list of #2s since 2000. Two bona fide All-Stars, with only one of the two being a bona fide superstar.

[3Peatkb24]

My expectations for Russell are much higher than Randle's being he was the #2 pick ...

That's not fair to him because the Lakers picked him when they could have selected a different player. Look at prior #2s: Forget Ingram for the moment because we don't know what will become of him, but Jabari Parker (2014) is now starting to play well, Victor Oladipo (2013) is a Good, not Great, player, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2012) is no star, Derrick Williams (2011) stinks, Evan Turner (2010) has never amounted to much, Hasheem Thabeet (2009) was a complete bust, Michael Beasley (2008) has been a huge disappointment, Kevin Durant (2007) is Great, LaMarcus Aldridge (2006) panned out, Marvin Williams (2005) has been just OK, Emeka Okfor (2004) was decent, but is gone now, Darko Milicic (2003) was a bust, Jay Williams (2002) never made it, Tyson Chandler (2001) has been solid, but not a star, and Stromile Swift (2000) was pretty much a bust.

So there's your elite list of #2s since 2000. Two bona fide All-Stars, with only one of the two being a bona fide superstar.

Great Post and it shows not every #2 pick pans out but we need Russell too if we want to win anything. If Russell just ends up being Good, that isn't good enough. We need him Very Good to Great in a couple of years or we aren't going anywhere. This is season 2 for him so the jury is still out on him but if he plays next season like he is now, that isn't good enough. This will be the 4th season in a row that we wont even win 30 games, when will the winning start? 5 years from now? I don't even care about Championships right now, I just want to see progression and playing at least .500 ball so I can be at ease. I seen that the 1st 20 games (10-10) but over the last 26 games we are 5-21. We have regressed since 10-10. Yes we have 15 wins and will have more wins than last season but winning more than 17 games is nothing to brag about. I had us at 30 wins going in but now I am starting to think more like 25.

[KobeMVP888]

If Russell just ends up being Good, that isn't good enough. We need him Very Good to Great in a couple of years or we aren't going anywhere.

I don't disagree with that, but given that Jabari Parker is in his third season and now figuring things out (same with Randle, but it's really only his second season), I have hope for Russell. If he is going to reach star level, that will be in his fourth of fifth season IMO. Same with Ingram. We'll see.

[3Peatkb24]

If Russell just ends up being Good, that isn't good enough. We need him Very Good to Great in a couple of years or we aren't going anywhere.

I don't disagree with that, but given that Jabari Parker is in his third season and now figuring things out (same with Randle, but it's really only his second season), I have hope for Russell. If he is going to reach star level, that will be in his fourth of fifth season IMO. Same with Ingram. We'll see.

Yeah I have said many of times players seem to break out in their 3rd or 4th seasons so I still think Russell has a chance to become a Great player. I think he is very talented so my expectations for him are really high. We may have even made the right decision taking him over Okafor, although Okafor is playing for a dumpster fire franchise in Philly . We will see how it pans out. I do think losing Nance to injury has hurt us quite a bit, we may have 2 or 3 more wins had he not went down.

-I will be curious to see how Philly plays when Ben Simmons returns, Embiid is Good and with Simmons, Okafor may blossom because he is a Good scorer.

[KobeMVP888]

Embiid is Good

Embiid is Very Good and Very Great is his ceiling barring injuries.