2013-2014 General NBA thread

[nmduke2001]

Not Duke related other than the Kyrie connection, but has anyone else noticed that Tristan Thompson decided to change his shooting stroke from lefty to righty over the summer? Early results are very good, and I must say he just looks more natural shooting righty. Initially I thought it was just on free throws, but he's changed it on every jump shot. It must be incredibly difficult to go against instinct like that. I know many players are ambidextrous, but all favor one side or the other. Changing preferred sides at this level is a real challenge. It's a strange and fascinating story.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...anded-shooter/

[FerryFor50]

Not Duke related other than the Kyrie connection, but has anyone else noticed that Tristan Thompson decided to change his shooting stroke from lefty to righty over the summer? Early results are very good, and I must say he just looks more natural shooting righty. Initially I thought it was just on free throws, but he's changed it on every jump shot. It must be incredibly difficult to go against instinct like that. I know many players are ambidextrous, but all favor one side or the other. Changing preferred sides at this level is a real challenge. It's a strange and fascinating story.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...anded-shooter/

I think you meant "amphibious."

[vick]

Michael-Carter Williams set a record, for an NBA debut, with 9 steals last night!

Yeah, I wasn't watching due to the World Series, but that might have been the best NBA debut ever. By Hollinger's Game Score, it smashed the previous best. To do it against the two-time defending champions? Insane.

[MChambers]

I think you meant "amphibious."

So that means the Cavs have two amphibious players? Cool!

[JBDuke]

Please note that we have two long-term NBA threads up and running - one for discussing Duke players in the NBA, and this one, to discuss the rest of the league. I've had to move a few posts over to the other thread, as some were posting here about former Duke players.

[nmduke2001]

You know that I hope Snell turns out to be an elite defender, and I think he has the athleticism, length, and desire to become one. But I think that he's probably a year or two away physically and in terms of experience from being an elite defender. He's certainly a step down defensively from Butler at the moment.

I'd say that a lineup of Hinrich/Butler/Deng/Gibson/Noah would be a nightmare matchup for opposing offenses. Great length, versatility, and defensive awareness. The downside is that none of those guys can create their own shot.

That's the one glaring flaw the Bulls have is that they still haven't found another scorer who can create his own shot. Boozer, Deng, and Butler are more than capable of finishing off of someone else's work, but they just don't excel on their own, which puts a lot of pressure on Rose to create offense.

CDu - did you notice that the Bulls played the Henrich/Butler/Deng/Gibson/Noah line-up earlier? Not a whole lot of points scored for either team during those couple of minutes of game time.