Hornets coach James Borrego meets individually with LaMelo Ball at least twice a week to go over details that will aid the point guard’s development, Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes. They are especially focused on reducing turnovers and fouls.
“It’s really about decision-making,” Borrego said. “That’s really it. ‘What are you seeing here? What are your reads here? What are you thinking on this play offensively, defensively?’ Some of it is accountability, some of it is simply, ‘You are in the right position, you are not in the right position.’ I show him positives, I show him areas of growth. It’s not all areas of concern for me.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Wizards forward Rui Hachimura is expected to begin training with the Capital City Go-Go in the G League next week, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington reports. Hachimura hasn’t played this season due to personal reasons and the Wizards are hopeful he’ll soon return to their rotation. The focus right now is mainly about getting his conditioning up to speed.
- Hawks second-year forward Onyeka Okongwu has ramped up his activity as he seeks to return from shoulder surgery, he told Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 2020 lottery pick is hopeful he can get back in action sometime next month. “I feel stronger. Legs feel stronger, I’m getting my upper-body muscles back, and everything’s going well right now,” he said. “You could say that I’m definitely on track; my goal is still to come back in December, but I’m not going to rush or anything.”
- Heat center Bam Adebayo admits the team was worn out by the time the playoffs came around last season, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Miami was swept by the Bucks in the opening round. “We are more solution-based and trying to figure out how to get it done rather than, ‘Here is our excuses to why we can’t get it done,’” Adebayo said. “But after the season, looking back at it, you was like, ‘Nah, we were broken.’”
Either that last quote by Adebayo is a really bad one to use, or he wasn’t just necessarily saying they were just worn out…
Saying, “[they] were broken,” definitely makes it sound alot worse than that..lol
So much of this stuff is taken out of context. The better team or healthier team, or team that wanted it more won. I think the Heat played well. I thought the Hawks played damn well, Harden played his a** off, but the Bucks still won. That’s the way we as fans want it to go. As a fan, I think it was fantastic. Fans of the other teams may not agree. But they were all hard fought series and was incredibly entertaining all the way through. Hard for most real basketball fans to deny that.
Maybe it’s cause Adebayo is same size as Bron. Yet everyone thinks he’s a Center. Adebayo is a 4. Has longer reach than Bron. Just cause 4s play small ball center. Do t make them one. That shhh adds up over the years. It wears on your body. And burns you out for Playoffs. Knicks got that version of Amare. You can’t teach size.
Face it, centers are just getting smaller and more athletic these days. You’re convinced that someone has to be 7-feet tall and built like Shaq to play center in the NBA, but the league is trending more and more towards positionless basketball. Just look at Draymond Green, he plays a ton of center. It doesn’t matter how big anyone playing center is if he completely lacks the speed to keep up with smaller players.
GSW still had 6-11 or 7 footers in the roster. McGee, Bogut, Wiseman, Zaza they all got quality minutes.
Bam had Meyers Leonard starting next to him and played with Olynyk a lot the last couple of years, so your theory of being worn down b/c he played the 5 is not entirely true. I’ve seen you call other players that arent “true bigs”, as you might say, 5s, so I’m confused how Bam isn’t. Also, Bam is a 5 in today’s NBA. Unless he starts spacing the floor himself, or he plays next to another floor spacing big, he is pretty much a 5. He defends pick and roll, protects the rim, guards multiple positions, makes plays from the high post, in the low box, runs offense through dribble handoffs at several areas of the floor, catches and finishes at the rim, etc…He is a really great template for the modern NBA big. He also has really great length
Bam, MIL did worn you out… they did broke you up, that is for sure!
That they did, the better team won, which always is good, when it happens!
If Spo would have used Bjelica, Okpala/Achiuwa in that series instead of Dedmon, I think that series goes a lot differently. There were a couple of really close games. Some calls went certain ways, and Middleton made big shots
The Heat had a lot of injuries and covid situations last year, and were already off a short turnaround where guys got hurt in the finals. Bam has said he lost a lot of his upper body strength going into last year, and I thought he was noticeably skinnier, and he looks a lot more like he previously did, and potentially even stronger this year.
I would also say that addressing the issue at the 4 spot, and finally having a guard that can defend, like Lowry, are huge reasons they have looked good. Lowry just does so much. He allows them to use certain lineups they otherwise couldn’t, with more shooters on the floor, b/c he is so great defensively. He is especially great for Herro. I’ve always been a big fan, but I’ve seen him do some things defensively that I’m not sure if I’ve noticed before. He is godlike at closing out, and his recovery and ability to guard multiple people in a single possession are really impressive. That’s probably why he has been one of the best 2 way guards in the league for a long time now