NBA Chat With Yannis 11/2/12

1. Wil

   Hi Yannis, I know it is early, and winning on the road is always difficult, but what is up with the Lakers? The ‘we have a lot of new players’ excuse is pretty hollow considering both Dallas and Portland had as much or more changes from last year and still spanked them in both contests. What is the issue and what do they need to work on?

   • Yannis Koutroupis

     Welcome everyone to this week’s chat, let’s jump right into it.

     Defense, defense, defense. That’s the root of all their issues right now. Everything else will sort itself out. Their second unit needs their roles defined, but I don’t think that’s a huge issue right now. The defense is much more pressing.

2. LA in LA

   2 questions:
   1)Harden balled out. It was against Detroit but still. If he plays that well against all mediocre teams it’s going to mess up their plan of getting a high pick.

   2) How much do you blame Brown for Lakers 0-2 start?

   • Yannis Koutroupis

     That’s ok with Houston. When they gave him 80 million they stopped worrying as much about getting a high pick. The whole point of getting a high pick is to get a star, and they feel they have one now in Harden. He certainly looked like one against Detroit.

3. SatBchMagicer

   Hi Yannis, I have really enjoyed getting to ‘know’ you better by your more frequent appearences on HW TV segments/thoughtful insights-’backed opinions’ you present. My question- where are you ‘based’ and are you a fan of any NBA team(s) like: Joel/CHI, Susan/OKC, Lang/ATL and Bill/Dallas/HOU?

   • Yannis Koutroupis

     Great to hear! I’m based out of San Antonio, but cover Houston as well. I currently reside in Corpus Christi, Texas, though, where I was born and raised and my family still lives at. I grew up a Lakers fan.

4. SatBchMagicer

   Know 12/13 season just started, but based on preseason results/# of rookies that made team rosters-already look like ‘contributors’: Davis/NOH, Beal/WAS, Robinson/SAC, Lillard/POR, Barnes/GSW, Ross/TOR, Drummond/DET, Jones/HOU, Nicholson/ORL, Sullinger/BOS, Jones III/OKC, Crowder/DAL, and even Sacre/LAL- would you ‘predict’ now that 2012 Draft will ‘turn out as much the better one’ than 2013′s, say 4/5 years from now?

   • Yannis Koutroupis

     Too early to say because we haven’t seen any of the college players extensively yet. 2012 has an advantage, but 2013 is somewhat unknown right now. Lots of guys who could impress and change the tone.

5. o.O

   your thoughts on harden+lin tandem

   • Yannis Koutroupis

     Expensive, but productive so far. There’s reason to be hopeful in Houston now, whereas there wasn’t before the Harden trade.

6. Steve

   What do you think of demar derozan’s extension? Was it a smart move or just a risk?

   • Yannis Koutroupis

     I think they were bidding against themselves, something you never want to do.

7. James

   Coming from a HEAT fan why is it some much noise around the Lakers have people forgotten the HEAT started out 9-8?

   • Yannis Koutroupis

     Yeah, I pointed that out in HOOPSWORLD TV recently. The Lakers lost two games in October. They should have won them, but who really cares? There’s a long way to go.

8. Golden Refugee

   Is it a good thing that the Warriors won with Curry, Lee and most of the starters not looking good, or is it concerning that they looked ugly and were saved by the bench? I feel like because they have a very solid bench they can win games (like game 1) that they would have lost last year.

   • Yannis Koutroupis

     Nothing is concerning at this time of year other than major injuries. Depth is a major strength of the Warriors. They’re going to be able to rely on their bench all year long.

9. kurt

   will the Jazz deal Millsap or Jefferson at the deadline and what could they get in return?

   • Yannis Koutroupis

     I think Millsaps gone and that he can fetch them a solid starter and maybe a pick. Jefferson could stick around.

     That’s going to do it for me folks, I’ll be back next week at the same time!