http://www.si.com/nba/2016/01/26/thunder-knicks-kevin-durant-kristaps-porzingis-baskeball-unicorn

Kevin Durant calls Kristaps Porzingis a basketball ‘unicorn’

Ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday, Kevin Durant paid a compliment to rookie Kristaps Porzingis, calling him a “unicorn” because of his rare combination of talents.

“He can shoot, he can make the right plays, he can defend, he’s a 7-footer that can shoot all the way out to the 3-point line,” Durant said, according to ESPN. “That’s rare. And block shots—that’s like a unicorn in this league.

“When they made the pick, I texted immediately and said ‘I like this kid, he can play.’ A lot of people were down on him, but he can play. He’s a skilled guy and I think we’ve gotten away from enjoying skilled players in this league. We get so many players that are athletic and big and strong, but he’s a skilled player.”

In 46 starts for the Knicks this season, the No. 4 pick is averaging 14.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

“You’ve got to respect what he’s doing,” Durant said. “This being New York City, everything is under a microscope, but he’s progressing at a high rate pretty fast, and he’s going to be a force.”

***
I'm tryna be better off, not better than...

It's hard not to project any of those guys as perennial all stars and career 20/10 guys.

Russ has still shown only flashes here and there but he's also got a ridiculously short leash that the aforementioned big men haven't had to deal with.

Zingis looks like much more of a sure thing from here on out and if we're basing the draft on what we know right today, nobody in their right mind takes Russ #2. This is not because his future is set in stone but the other two are much safer bets.

He'll only get stronger, more offensively polished, etc.

He played incredibly well vs. OKC last night but if you only looked at the box score you might just see on "ok" game.

Clutch blocks, steals and buckets.

The ceiling is high for him.

Not sure what I can say for Russell other than he's not gotten the same "look" as Kristaps, but when he has played I haven't seen a guy playing at a level commensurate with his draft position.

He had a string last nght where he blocked Westbrook at the rim, ripped waiters and then slapped the ball away while durant was dribbling.

He s so good on D.

and playing PRETTY good POSITION defense against tenured NBA vets.

the tip dunks and threes are fun but that's the stuff that is easiest to get better at. it's all the other stuff that makes him look like a really special player for the future.

I'll say that much

I don't think the circumstances on this Lakers team are all that conducive toward fairly evaluating Russell in comparison to the big guns in his draft class, but watching how well Jah and Zingis in particular are doing is making me a little uneasy with Russ as our pick.

i mean, i'm sure they'll still struggle to win games, but that SHOULD be expected.

i'm more interested in how all the parts will fit (or not).

but you're right - we kind of have to wait til' next season when the Kobe Fairwell Tour is over to really see what the Lakers have or don't have.

the only one who can ruin DLo is Byron and that aint gonna happen.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/d-angelo-russell-was-benched-for--trying-to-take-over-the-game-214041264.html

D'Angelo Russell was benched for 'trying to take over the game'
The last few days haven’t been good to Byron Scott. The last few years haven’t, either, but in this business you mainly end up discussing the latest thing that wasn’t all that great.

In the hours following what might be the most believable cry of hacking in sports figure/social media history, Scott dug in to lead his Lakers against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs prevailed as Kobe Bryant watched from the sidelines, mindful of his sore shoulder and the home court setting that wouldn’t leave him disappointing faraway fans on his farewell tour.

The game also saw Laker rookie D’Angelo Russell struggle through yet another rough shooting night, as the 19-year old missed eight of 12 shots in the loss. Russell sat for the game’s final two and a half minutes, as Scott went with a three-guard lineup featuring D’Angelo’s replacement in Nick Young, alongside Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams.

Following the loss, Scott offered up a very Byron Scott-like quote in discussing Russell’s absence.

"I saw the last couple minutes that he was in that he was really trying to take over the game, and that's not him yet," Scott said. "I want the ball to move a little bit. I thought it stuck with him. He tried to make the big shots and things like that. I understand that, but to me, that's not him right now."

"I love the fact that he has confidence," Scott said. "When it gets to the point where it's cockiness, then we've got a problem."
He wasn’t hacked.

At this point, it is rather difficult to stew over Byron Scott’s observations without treating his purview like the proverbial fish in a barrel. With that in place, there isn’t anything explicitly wrong, as if something could be so clearly black and white when it comes to sports, with Scott’s comments.

D’Angelo Russell shot five times in his first 9 1/2 minutes of work in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, making two shots. He missed two three-pointers and split two free throws while adding a steal alongside no assists. The Lakers were -3 in the quarter with him out there, eventually going on to be outscored 15-12 by Dallas in the final frame in what was a rough game to watch save for a pair of fantastic Kobe-bred highlights.

The Lakers probably had a better shot to win the game while featuring veterans Young, Williams, and Clarkson – however mercurial and young they might be. Russell, meanwhile, has not played like a superstar-in-waiting in 27 minutes per game with Los Angeles, despite dropping 12.2 points and 3.3 assists in limited minutes. He shoots 41 percent overall and takes far too many three-pointers for someone that makes less than a third of them.

He’s supposed to want to take over games, though. He’s supposed to take over games, even if it results in a litany of airballs. Much in the same way that Kobe Bryant or, I don’t know, Byron Scott attempted to on Laker teams that were filled with much more productive veterans.

Part of the job of the head coach is to live with such things. Sometimes the point isn’t to win battles, but the war; and these 9-38 Lakers have already lost the battle that is the 2015-16 NBA season. For Scott to continue to defer to intangible pablum as the reason why his 19-year old failed at rescuing his terrible offense for a series of plays in what turned out to be a deciding 12-point quarter should be infuriating to Laker fans.

We know these Lakers weren’t designed to win, that was obvious years ago, but at some point this small-yet-billion-buck organization has to come to terms with the hole it might be digging itself. At times, it appears as if the 19-year old might be the smartest guy in the room:

D'Angelo Russell on Byron benching him for trying to take over the game: "I don't know if he would've said that if I was making those shots"
— Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) January 27, 2016

That’s a kid, mind you, pointing out that his 50-something head coach might be thinking one play at a time. In a bad way.

Again, D’Angelo Russell might not turn out to be an All-Star, or the next Laker legend. That’s not for Byron Scott to decide, though, in 2016. Good coaches provide an atmosphere in which lacking players can flourish and create. Good coaches allow for someone who is interested in the game, smitten with competition, and happy to lead to sometimes, take over when the situation doesn’t call for it.

Apparently we just called Del Harris, who coached both Byron Scott and Kobe Bryant in 1996-97, a “good coach.”

Kids gotta take their licks. The Lakers stand to benefit from losing games this season, but more important than a saved draft pick is the idea that the team’s young core develops something that is going to outstretch both the Kobe and Byron Scott eras.

On any other team, the idea of a continued “Byron Scott era” would be a laughable proposition. With these Lakers, however, you don’t know how far this hubris will take them. This franchise loves to dig in.

https://streamable.com/way4

Byron wouldn't have taken him out if he was making those shots and we've seen that twice already...vs Minnesota and vs Sacramento. Absolutely zero consistency from Byron, basing play off results which is so silly when you consider it's a rookie on a 9 and 38 team.

We'll see if Russell can change that..
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<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

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Shits gotta hurt inside

I'm slightly concerned, but just slightly. Zingis and Jah both look like the real deal and it's not like we had a shot at KAT.

I need to see what Dlo does with a different coach before I start really losing faith in the kid. He is only 19 after all.

>I'm slightly concerned, but just slightly. Zingis and Jah
>both look like the real deal and it's not like we had a shot
>at KAT.
>
>I need to see what Dlo does with a different coach before I
>start really losing faith in the kid. He is only 19 after all.

but I want to wait and see what he looks like in year 2. Did he work on his game and his body in the off-season or did he party? That will tell the tale.

Like I've said before I'm willing to cut him some slack this year, he's a 19 year-old millionaire rookie (sometimes)starting point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. I just want him to survive this first year.

Because I'm pretty sure if I was in that position at 19 I probably would've drank, smoked & fucked my entire life away, lol...

i'm only mad that we didn't get #1 pick for Towns. other than that, i'm good with that pick.

Friday, Dinner With Schmucks, and John Wick.

https://www.gq.com/story/kristaps-porzingis-gq-interview

He has his own key....not sure if that's common.

A lot of the praise Porzingis has received is partially because of lowered expectations, correct? I know for certain that's true in my case.

but i'm not a knicks fan. i can understand why knicks fans mostly boo'd the pick.

he's exceeding expectations, but that doesn't speak to his quality or ceiling. that only speaks to low expectations aka "well...that's just like...your opinion, man."

Look at what happened with "Linsanity"

>Look at what happened with "Linsanity"

I swear if this dude played in Orlando no one would give a shit. Towns better watch out. The media is angling for a reason to name this kid ROY.


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Same as it ever was!

I would hope the sports writers would honestly vote based on what the numbers dictate. And this is coming from a Knicks fan.

Bigger market. I can see it happening. All it takes is a bad few weeks by KAT and Porzingis to maintain.


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Same as it ever was!

1) I don't want him gifted anything...all star appearances, accolades, none of it...want him to earn everything.
2)I don't want to see him on espn the body....don't do it...please.

>2)I don't want to see him on espn the body....don't do
>it...please.


----------------------------
Same as it ever was!

get on a decent winning streak at the time though. Not saying he isn't an average point guard, just saying that the hype he got at the time was warranted given the circumstances.

the circumstances = big media market.

playoffs team (no 1st rounder) as a #4 pick.

By comparison Jabari was the #2 pick with high expectations and had 12 and 6 and his rookie year was considered a success.

When you add in that the #2 pick hasn't looked great so far and the #3 pick's rookie year has been smeared with off the court issues..right today zingis is looking like the 2nd best player in the draft.

Watching him play, he is real. It's not rose-colored glasses by any stretch. Sure the average fan discredited the pick but we are saluting him because of his work ethic and skill set. A 7' 3" player with decent handles, a good outside jumper. Decent from three, can block shots, rebound and move as effortlessly as he does while defending 3s and 4s (even 2 guards at times), nah the priase is deserved. This is not Linsanity. Lin was and still is average. Porzingas is not average.

just looking at the per 36 numbers, one is getting hyped up while the other, younger player is pretty much being labeled a bust already

18 points, 10 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.5 blocks
16 points, 5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.6 steals

Worst numbers than both.

Personally I was buying his stock and he's very slightly exceeded my expectations if at all. Ultimately the big thing will be his body and his commitment, same thing with any big rookie who has some tools. I think he will work hard but can he get strong enough and can he stay healthy? These are always question marks for a seven footer.

I Be HATIN!!!