Appetizers

Well, with the 29th JBL Auction just 9 days away I thought I would share my thoughts on what I've seen in the NBA preseason. Without further ado...

Houston will score a lot of points thanks to The Beard. With Harden and Westy already in Arctic – how many more Rockets actually end up on a JBL roster is interesting. Capela will obviously be a big dollar ticket. Eric Gordon? Probably. But after that? I’m not sure how many more Rockets are JBL worthy.

  Chris Clemons is a straight jacker. Kid’s not shy. Might fit in Houston just fine when Harden’s on the bench. He’s the 3rd all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. He’s also NOT 5’9 that he says he is!

  Looks like Siakam is ready for another step up. Bangkok must be thrilled.

  Chris Boucher, a good Canadian kid, was very impressive in the first pre-season game with the
Raptors. Can he carve out a role?

  Defense is clearly optional in some of these games

  KAT put up a monster line in limited minutes. Benny is excited

  Ben Simmons hit a 3 pointer. I’m surprised we didn’t hear more from Idaho about this
accomplishment. Maybe Tuna is worried about Ben taking multiple 3’s per game and going 3 for
42 from downtown.

  Because I was in the UK last year, I had never seen Trae Young play. He’s impressive. Very quick.
I like that Hawks team. In a couple of years they could be very good.

  The Pelicans will be everyone’s League Pass favourite this season. Zion is a beast. He’s built like a
tank. They are a very deep team so it might be difficult to figure out who is going to play off their bench? What is Josh Hart’s role? E’twaun Moore’s role? Nickeil Alexander-Walker? A lot of interesting wing players to choose from.

  Who is this Chris Silva in Miami?

  Goran Dragic looks old and slow. Oh wait, he is.

  Tyler Herro looks like he’s ready to play. Right now. Will Spoelstra give him the chance?

  DeAndre Ayton put up big numbers in 21 minutes against KAT.

  Tony Bradley can play – he just won’t in Utah because he’s behind Rudy Gobert. Two nice games
from Tony.

  Hornets or Wizards? Who will be the worst team? Both look devoid of Fantasy talents – which
usually means there are a couple of guys who will have monster years because there is literally
no one else on the team. For the Hornets – who is going to score? Has to be Rozier right?

  Denver is too deep. They could roll out 12 guys every night. Bit of a fantasy buzzkill.

  Are DeMarre Carroll and Jae Crowder the same person? Crowder looks like he could be the
starter in Memphis at SF. Didn’t think he’d ever be a starter again – but someone has to score
for this Memphis team. After JJJ, Jonas and Morant is he the #4 scorer?

  Who will be the SG in Memphis? Is it really Dillon Brooks? Hasn’t the coach seen him play?
Maybe Grayson Allen steals the spot? Allen looks decent thru 2 games against non-NBA
opponents.

  Wait. The Bulls are still giving Kris Dunn a chance? You draft White at #7 and then spend 30
million on Satoransky. So, of course, let Dunn play. They have to be show-casing him for a potential deal. Praying and hoping he does well so some desperate team will make them an offer. Dunn playing any PG minutes is just not right.

  Christiano Felicio is a NBA player. Please, someone look at this man. How did he get a 4 year/32 million dollar NBA contract? Please, someone explain this to me.

  Watching Coby White play – I think he could be good and those who were picking late in our JBL rookie draft may regret not taking a flyer on him.

  The Lopez brothers together on the same team and on the floor at the same time just makes me happy.

  Steven Adams looked like he was playing in the over 45 Kits Basketball league. He looked scraggly and old; wearing a T-Shirt under his jersey; wearing legging and knee pads; and wearing elbow pads. Dude just looked out of place. That’s why we love him.

  Dragan Bender sighting in Milwaukee. Just move along. Nothing to see here.

  Mo Bamba. Oh my. But where does he get minutes?

  If Christian Wood doesn’t make the Pistons then someone call the police. A crime will have been
committed.

  I believe a Jonathan Isaac breakout is near

  Brandon Ingram does not weigh 150 pounds. He’s stick and bones. Can he survive 82 games and
the pace the Pels are about to run at?

  Could this be the year the Spurs start to fade? I think it’s 22 straight years in the playoffs? Is that
streak in jeopardy? I’m on the fence about how good they are – but I can’t doubt Popovich. So
I’m saying the Spurs will be a playoff team. Oh yeah.

  DeJounte Murray must be excited to finally be back playing. I drafted him last year for $20 and
then he tore his ACL in the pre-season.

  Devin Booker might get some more open shots if Ayton is going to be a monster and with Rubio
pulling the strings. Did Phoenix really run with Elie Okobo, De’Anthony Melton and Tyler Johnson as their point guards last year?? Yeah, I’m boldly predicting some bigger stats for Booker, Ayton and others this season. Shocker.

  The Blazers looked out of sorts last night. I think they will miss Harkless and Aminu – even though both of them didn’t put up great fantasy numbers – I think they were decent NBA’ers. Not sure about Hood/Bazemore and others.

  Are the Celti

cs actually going to be good?

  Boban played 31 minutes last night! Is that a real thing? Boban and Porzingis out there together.
Would that be the tallest combo in the NBA?

  Rajon Rondo played 34 minutes and Derrick Rose played 31 minutes. Both appear to have roles
with their teams. Rose I figured as much but Rondo, geesh. And Rondo just did it again vs. a
Kyrie-less Nets team. Is it 2019 or 2013 Rondo?

  AD had 22 and 10 in 18 minutes? Yikes. It’s been 7 years since the JBL saw a $100 dollar player.
Could this be the year?

  Jordan Clarkson showed his coach – hey, don’t just give the keys to the SexLand backcourt duo
(Collin Sexton + Darius Garland = Sexland). He actually looked decent.

  Andre Drummond took a couple 3 pointers. It did not go well. If he’s jacking those, that’s a big
negative.

  Detroit is really just Griffin and Drummond. Without those 2 guys, I’m not sure how many games
the Pistons win.

  The Jarrett Allen & DeAndre Jordan center combo could put up monster numbers. Could they
both average a double-double?

  Ummm, Taj Gibson? One of the Knicks 6 power forwards lit it up. Your guess is as good as mine which of these guys are going to play on a nightly basis. Have to figure all of them will have big nights at some point. Seems like Randle and Bobby Portis will be guys they will lean on for frontcourt scoring. 

  Can’t wait to see Marcus Morris play in San Antonio. Remember the Spurs signed him to a 2 year 20 million dollar deal. However, the Spurs needed to make some cap room so they traded Davis Bertans away and then re-structured DeMarre Carroll’s deal. Once they did that, Morris said screw you and signed a 1 year 15 million dollar deal in New York. Dickhead.

  Isn’t LeBron poised for a big year? Guy had been to 8 or 9 straight NBA finals and must have been exhausted. In 2019, he missed a tonne of games, got shut down at the end of the season, and has been resting and recovering for 6 months. Now he has Anthony Davis as a wing man...how can he not be ready for a monster season?