The NBA played 5 exciting games today, let's take a look at the report!
The Magic lost 97-114 against the Celtics, the Pelicans comfortably beat the Spurs 146-110, the Rockets lost 119-128 to the Bucks, and the Wizards lost 108-112 to the Suns.
Although the Spurs lost, the new star Wembanyama still performed eye-catching, scoring 17 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks, which is already his 8th consecutive double-double, breaking the record of young players in NBA history!
Wembanyama has now become a veritable star for Spurs, but he wasn't as good as he started out. We remember that at the 2017 Under-19 World Junior Championships, Wembanyama was completely overpowered by a fat boy named Kenneth Lofton with his weight advantage.
This Lofton is mediocre-looking, 198cm tall, weighs more than 136kg, and is typical of chubby players. He was undrafted in the 2023 draft, mainly because of his size.
But even if he didn't make the cut, Lofton was not bad at basketball, having competed at the World Junior Championships and was an old teammate of the now-popular top rookie Chet Holmgren.
In the summer league, Lofton was even more domineering, in the game against Holmgren's Thunder, he shot 8 of 16 in the whole game, and scored a whopping 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, beating the opponent's rookie Chet Holmgren. In each confrontation, Lofton used his body of more than 130 kilograms against Chet and forced the opponent's basket.
He was unceremonious outside the three-point line, facing Holmgren's long arm of the block, Lofton made a number of ultra-long three-pointers, which drew cheers from the audience.
After the game, Holmgren bluntly said that Lofton has been able to establish himself in the league for many years. However, this is not the case, and Lofton's size disadvantage has been infinitely magnified at the NBA level, so that he has not been able to stand on his feet so far.
Last season, Lofton averaged 25.2 points and 9.7 rebounds for NBA Development League teams, shooting over 50 percent from three-point range and from the field.
In the end, he was named the Development League MVP and All-NBA First Team. In the final game of the regular season, Lofton even played an amazing performance of 42 points and 14 rebounds on 17-of-25 shooting in 40 minutes.
But back in the NBA, Lofton is still on the fringes of the bench. He has played for the Grizzlies in just 15 games this season, averaging 6.6 minutes per game and contributing a low production of 2.6 points and 1 rebound per game.
Just after Adams and Clarke were reimbursed for successive seasons, Lofton still missed the rotation time.
To this day, Lofton has finally been laid off. In anticipation of Morant's imminent return, the Grizzlies urgently need a formal contract spot.
And the team has signed center forward Biyombo under a tight contract. At this time, Lofton, a substitute who can be dispensable, naturally became a victim.
But we don't have to worry about Lofton, after all, there will always be teams interested in the development league MVP and All-NBA First Team winner.
In contrast, we're more interested in how the Grizzlies' No. 1 center Morant has been, and is he worth sacrificing Lofton for him?
Some netizens said: Morant's performance during this period has not reached the level corresponding to his expectations and value, and I don't know if he can regain his form after returning from the ban this time.
Some netizens said: Lofton's data is indeed very eye-catching, and if he is given enough playing time, he should be able to play a greater role.
Some netizens said: No matter how Lofton performs, his physical disadvantage is destined to make it difficult for him to gain a foothold in the NBA.
In this game, we saw that Wembanyama's performance is still eye-catching, and the future of Spurs is promising. And Lofton, the MVP of the Development League, could not escape the fate of being cut in the end, just because of Morant's return.
Fans, are you more optimistic about Wembanyama or Lofton? Is Morant worth sacrificing Lofton for him? Welcome to interact with me in the comment area!
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