07-15-2023, 12:11 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-15-2023, 12:49 AM by SleepingHero.)
Alright, wow.
This is the first game I watched where I felt Lively put it all together. Makes me hopeful he's further along than I previously thought. He's still a bit wild. I counted 5 uncalled "fouls" that aren't actually fouls but will 100% be called in the NBA. Has to tone that down. But the amount of times he set a good pick, rolled, established position underneath the basket for a wide open dunk, only for the guard to ignore him, made me believe he can actually play well enough in a system next to Luka that he can get some minutes (and not be a total detriment). His defense was as advertised. He contained multiple guards, and his presence around the rim was swallowing. He altered so many shots. He had that one block at the beginning of the game that made me audibly go "holy shit". He actually hit a turnaround hook that was unfairly called a travel. But he also botched like 5 layups... Still the boxscore kind of underrates his true impact on the game. He was better than the 9pts 8rebs, 2ast 1 blk that was counted.
But I really just want to talk about Omax. Is that bad? Holy shit. The guy is amazing. I've said it before but I'll keep saying it, he is 1000% the real prize of this draft. When I watched the 1st summer league game I went "Jesus he's much bigger than I originally thought." Now after 4 games I'm going, WTF this guy can maybe be someone special in this league.
He actually has an offensive package. The fact he's comfortable to drive to the rim and be under control already puts him miles ahead than all of our former big-wing prospects. He went head to head with Jarace Walker, who was picked 16 spots ahead of him. Offensively he took him down to the post and hit a comfortable looking shot. He took him off the dribble many times and looked great while doing so. His shot is a little inconsistent but all of his misses looked good and the form was sound.
On defense Omax was suffocating. S U F F O C A T I N G. He locked Walker down so many times that he looked afraid to do whatever he normally wants to do. Walker shot 28%. Let that sink in!! 1 for 10 from 3 and Omax was the primary reason. His gravity engulfed the Pacer guards and bothered them so much. I cannot accurately describe the amount of giddiness I had watching Omax play today. He looked like a 2-way lottery talent and potential star. WOW! I know there are a lot of people in the Mavs universe that see DFS in him, and I was one of them early on. I'm now thinking he can potentially be an OG Anunoby starter kit. (saw this on twitter: Jarace Walker welcome to the O-Maximum Security Penitentiary)
As for the other guys, they had their moments but I honestly think none of them have a place in the NBA. The only 2 that really stood out (other than Hardy, Lively, and Omax) were Taze Moore and Lawson. Moore looked like a great hustle guy, but not sure where he fits on this team. Lawson flashed all the things that made him looked attractive for a 2-way spot, but the fact he cannot knock down a corner 3 consistently will always be his downfall. Miles Jr. suffers from that "Isaiah Thomas syndrome" that dirkfansince1998 mentioned. He has talent. Had a lot of impressive drives to the rim. Worth a 2-way but I'm not getting excited over him at all.
This is the first game I watched where I felt Lively put it all together. Makes me hopeful he's further along than I previously thought. He's still a bit wild. I counted 5 uncalled "fouls" that aren't actually fouls but will 100% be called in the NBA. Has to tone that down. But the amount of times he set a good pick, rolled, established position underneath the basket for a wide open dunk, only for the guard to ignore him, made me believe he can actually play well enough in a system next to Luka that he can get some minutes (and not be a total detriment). His defense was as advertised. He contained multiple guards, and his presence around the rim was swallowing. He altered so many shots. He had that one block at the beginning of the game that made me audibly go "holy shit". He actually hit a turnaround hook that was unfairly called a travel. But he also botched like 5 layups... Still the boxscore kind of underrates his true impact on the game. He was better than the 9pts 8rebs, 2ast 1 blk that was counted.
But I really just want to talk about Omax. Is that bad? Holy shit. The guy is amazing. I've said it before but I'll keep saying it, he is 1000% the real prize of this draft. When I watched the 1st summer league game I went "Jesus he's much bigger than I originally thought." Now after 4 games I'm going, WTF this guy can maybe be someone special in this league.
He actually has an offensive package. The fact he's comfortable to drive to the rim and be under control already puts him miles ahead than all of our former big-wing prospects. He went head to head with Jarace Walker, who was picked 16 spots ahead of him. Offensively he took him down to the post and hit a comfortable looking shot. He took him off the dribble many times and looked great while doing so. His shot is a little inconsistent but all of his misses looked good and the form was sound.
On defense Omax was suffocating. S U F F O C A T I N G. He locked Walker down so many times that he looked afraid to do whatever he normally wants to do. Walker shot 28%. Let that sink in!! 1 for 10 from 3 and Omax was the primary reason. His gravity engulfed the Pacer guards and bothered them so much. I cannot accurately describe the amount of giddiness I had watching Omax play today. He looked like a 2-way lottery talent and potential star. WOW! I know there are a lot of people in the Mavs universe that see DFS in him, and I was one of them early on. I'm now thinking he can potentially be an OG Anunoby starter kit. (saw this on twitter: Jarace Walker welcome to the O-Maximum Security Penitentiary)
As for the other guys, they had their moments but I honestly think none of them have a place in the NBA. The only 2 that really stood out (other than Hardy, Lively, and Omax) were Taze Moore and Lawson. Moore looked like a great hustle guy, but not sure where he fits on this team. Lawson flashed all the things that made him looked attractive for a 2-way spot, but the fact he cannot knock down a corner 3 consistently will always be his downfall. Miles Jr. suffers from that "Isaiah Thomas syndrome" that dirkfansince1998 mentioned. He has talent. Had a lot of impressive drives to the rim. Worth a 2-way but I'm not getting excited over him at all.
14x All-Star, 12x all-NBA, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1 NBA Championship: Dirk Nowitzki, the man, the myth, the legend.
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