I'll repeat, other than 3pt shooting and, to some extent, defensive versatility, there is nothing that Kuzma does better than Randle. It's summer league. Kuzma has done what he has done against player who either won't make the NBA or, if they do, sit on the end of a bench. Randle has done what he has done against NBA all-stars, starters and all-nba defenders... and, even against those guys, he has looks more skilled as a ball handler, scorer and facilitator than Kuzma, making no mention of being quicker and more explosive both in the full court and in the half court.
I'm not trying be down on Kuzma nor make this into a Randle v. Kuzma thing. I think Kuzma has a lot of potential (especially as a 3 and D role player). However, its just that I can see where this might be going. People need to calm their expectations for him a bit, especially for his rookie season. There is a legit chance that, unless there is an injury, Kuzma doesn't even get much playing time. We all need to be prepared for that, prepared for the fact that he may not look nearly as good in the regular season as he has against dleague talent, and be prepared to be patient with him.
Randle is a better player than Kuzma and Nance for sure. Higher ceiling and could be a top 3 guy on a team while the other two are probably more complimentary players, if even they turn out to be really good ones. But Randle's floor is also low because the holes in his game are big and in really important areas.
He's going to want $20+million starting next year and the Lakers have to make their decisions accordingly. Do you pay him long term starter money or not. They cleared the first hurdle (presumably) by deciding not to extend now. I hope he earns the max but shouldn't be paid on the assumption he's going to close those holes as he hasn't made nearly enough progress over the last two years. Will be interested what kind of deal Noel gets as a litmus test for Randle. _________________ Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.
Going to be an interesting year for Ju. I just feel like a lot of his rebounding stats are empty because he gets offenseive rebounds off of his own misses.
Feel what you want but stats prove you wrong.
Yes, that's correct. Randles low post offense is so graceful, he almost never misses around the rim.
Offensive rebounds are tracked....
Julius Randle averages 2 offensive rebounds per game, he was ranked 25th overall in that category (tied with 6 other players).
You'd have to argue that every top rebounder in the league's stats are also "empty" because they all averaged more offensive rebounds than Julius. I mean, unless you want to try and argue that all their offensive boards are from their teammates misses and the 2 the Julius averages.
You'd have to argue that every top rebounder in the league's stats are also "empty" because they all averaged more offensive rebounds than Julius. I mean, unless you want to try and argue that all their offensive boards are from their teammates misses and the 2 the Julius averages.
Wow, that number does seem low. I honestly assumed his offensive rebounds would be higher than that.
Randle is a better player than Kuzma and Nance for sure. Higher ceiling and could be a top 3 guy on a team while the other two are probably more complimentary players, if even they turn out to be really good ones. But Randle's floor is also low because the holes in his game are big and in really important areas.
He's going to want $20+million starting next year and the Lakers have to make their decisions accordingly. Do you pay him long term starter money or not. They cleared the first hurdle (presumably) by deciding not to extend now. I hope he earns the max but shouldn't be paid on the assumption he's going to close those holes as he hasn't made nearly enough progress over the last two years. Will be interested what kind of deal Noel gets as a litmus test for Randle.
Prove it, his style of play doesn't win and the lack of defense energy is still there. Here is a recent drew league game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdLvu67l4TQ All this reminds me he better give Ball the rebounds and initiate the transition offense and stay in his lane as just a good role player for Ball and Ingram. Oh yeah start shooting more cause Kuz is breathing down his back as a better fit
lol Drew League as an example of defense -_- you are really reaching dude. _________________ How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk
No need to pit Randle, Kuzma, and Nance against one another they are all Lakers lets hope all of them have a terrific season. We will need all of them if we are going to be successful and compete for a playoff spot.
Watching randle in the drew league I only took away a few things
1.) physically he's never looked stronger
2.) he wasn't playing at 100% effort
3.) he gets up court so freaking fast even when it's obvious he's not moving at full Speed. Bruh, what Pf is gonna keep up with him rim running? Nobody.
Because Randle can move so fast. Is he faster than Kuzma? I think if Kuzma can get these leak outs, so can Randle. The big thing is, lots of contract year players ball out, after that though they get lackadaisical. If we do extend him will he keep working on his craft. Cause he is very inconsistent.
Because Randle can move so fast. Is he faster than Kuzma? I think if Kuzma can get these leak outs, so can Randle. The big thing is, lots of contract year players ball out, after that though they get lackadaisical. If we do extend him will he keep working on his craft. Cause he is very inconsistent.
The front office has a closer look at his work ethic since he's been on the league. They should know better .
Ain't worried about Randle though. He's going to be paid accordingly. If he make his presence felt at both ends then he will get his money. If he's not, then he will be somewhere else.
I really want them to keep him, but if he asks for max, regardless of how well he plays I think they let him go.
He has a 12 mil cap hold. If he ask for a max and he deserve it, he will get it. Of course it meant that he anchored the team defensively, extended his range punishing and running teams with no breaks. I would not bet on that but he has physical attributes from the neck down and 100 million reasons to make it happen.
Watching randle in the drew league I only took away a few things
1.) physically he's never looked stronger
2.) he wasn't playing at 100% effort
3.) he gets up court so freaking fast even when it's obvious he's not moving at full Speed. Bruh, what Pf is gonna keep up with him rim running? Nobody.
Agree with all of the above. But couple times randle made a drive right and got into the paint instead of taking it all the way with right. He reverted back to left where he missed and I think the other got block. It's just drew league but it would have been nice to the right hand being used
Watching randle in the drew league I only took away a few things
1.) physically he's never looked stronger
2.) he wasn't playing at 100% effort
3.) he gets up court so freaking fast even when it's obvious he's not moving at full Speed. Bruh, what Pf is gonna keep up with him rim running? Nobody.
These were my takeaways also. You could see that he just had another gear that nobody else on teh court had.
KB824MJ wrote:
Because Randle can move so fast. Is he faster than Kuzma? I think if Kuzma can get these leak outs, so can Randle. The big thing is, lots of contract year players ball out, after that though they get lackadaisical. If we do extend him will he keep working on his craft. Cause he is very inconsistent.
Every young player on the Laker has been inconsistent.
Randle has shown steady improvement every year and he's consistently touted as one of if not the hardest worker on the team and a gym rat.
There's no reason to think he'd just fall off after getting a large contract.
As to whether Randle is faster than Kuzma....probably. Last year there were times where he looked like the faster guy on court, and that was before he got into better shape.
Here's what I take from Kuzma and Lonzo as it pertains to Randle.
I take away that on the perimeter that is how Lonzo and KCP are going to work extremely well, the way Kuzma comes off those screens and such to get open for three. KCP will feast on it like Kuzma has.
But on those leak outs where Lonzo finds Kuzma down court cause the Summer League PFs can't stay with him, it's gonna be a NIGHTMARE for other PFs to try to stay with Randle without fouling him while the pass is in the air.
The guy beats point guards down court when he's going downhill WITH THE BALL... and that was BEFORE this off-season... I can only imagine how much faster he's going to be now and moving off ball... _________________ How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk
Here's what I take from Kuzma and Lonzo as it pertains to Randle.
I take away that on the perimeter that is how Lonzo and KCP are going to work extremely well, the way Kuzma comes off those screens and such to get open for three. KCP will feast on it like Kuzma has.
But on those leak outs where Lonzo finds Kuzma down court cause the Summer League PFs can't stay with him, it's gonna be a NIGHTMARE for other PFs to try to stay with Randle without fouling him while the pass is in the air.
The guy beats point guards down court when he's going downhill WITH THE BALL... and that was BEFORE this off-season... I can only imagine how much faster he's going to be now and moving off ball...
Kuzma is a strong 3-point shooter. That is why he hangs around the perimeter and leaks out for those long passes.
Randle is a strong rebounder. I expect him to be crashing the boards instead of leaking out for long transition passes
I like Randle and want to see the tenacious rebounder from a couple of years ago (I did not see it as much last year to be honest). It will be interesting to see how his new body type translates on the court. I am not as concerned about his D and outside shot as others. I am more concerned about that lack of a right hand. He did throw a lot of trash up because of his lack of a right hand (and short arms). If he continues to develop his outside shot (showed us glimpses last year) and starts to develop his right hand, he will be a force.
I think Kuzma is showing that to really maximize Balls talents you have to have players who can shoot, if Randle can't shoot or Nance for that matter Kuzma will start eating into their minutes and make either of those players more expendable.
There are a lot of things I think Randle does well but he has to bring if from 3 this season otherwise I think he'll be on the move
Randle and Kuzma are different type players and could co-exist well. Run them at 5 and 4 in small ball should be funny.
This. Though we need Jules, Kuz, and BI to all be at least average defenders (and Jules to be able to step out onto the perimeter on switches and hold his own), plus some minimal amount of rim protection from the trio for the lineup to be really successful.
I like Randle and want to see the tenacious rebounder from a couple of years ago (I did not see it as much last year to be honest). It will be interesting to see how his new body type translates on the court. I am not as concerned about his D and outside shot as others. I am more concerned about that lack of a right hand. He did throw a lot of trash up because of his lack of a right hand (and short arms). If he continues to develop his outside shot (showed us glimpses last year) and starts to develop his right hand, he will be a force.
As I've said before, he has a right hand, he just continually finishes with his left out of habit.
Even if you watch the Summer league clips you'll see that Julius is often dribbling and passing with his right hand. It's not as if he tries to finish with this right and can't, in fact I've never seen him miss an attempt with his right, but has to break that habit of always wanting to finish with his left.
Obviously a make or break season for Jules. Based on my calculations, the only way to keep Jules + LBJ/PG13 is if we trade JC/Deng for $0 coming back. Lakers will have to make that determination basically of whether it's worth trading 1, possibly 2 future 1sts to get Deng off our books and to keep the 2 max for LBJ/PG13. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144464 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 8:14 am Post subject:
defense wrote:
I agree that Randle is a more superior physical specimen than Kuzma. He's big, fast and strong but I disagree that he is a better ball handler or finishes better. I see things the exact opposite of LS. I think there is nothing that Randle does better than Kuzma from a strictly basketball point of view. Although I've only seen Kuzma play in 6 or 7 summer league games. Randle has 2 years of NBA play for us to see what he can do, at least so far. I think the rational argument can be made that Kuzma hasn't done anything yet. That I can deal with but he certainly has a crap ton of potential to be very good and maybe better than Randle.
Do you know they are the same age? That both are 4-5 years from their primes? Only one has shown NBA skills while your belief in the other is "hope". _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
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