I think that’s the point he was making, you aren’t going to just knife through an NBA defense. Should he take two point jumpers if he can get to the paint or hit an open guy? No, so I agree with you there. BUT, he’s a bad free throw shooter so you can assume it translates a little to his non-mid range game.
Regarding contact, I would also add if you’re a 6’6" guard, you should at least be willing to post up small guards. He doesn’t do that either. Goes to shying away from contact.
I think my biggest overlooked thing is the kid hasn’t had to handle a shred of adversity. Part of that is he’s that good so his teams are good. How’s he going to handle being on a bad team and losing? How’s he going to handle not being the best player on the court? How’s he going to handle not having the best talent around him anymore?
Either way, absolutely he’s been spectacular and going to get drafted high. End of the day I don’t take him top 5 if I’m a GM.
In the case of Bogut back in 04 the Bucks drafted TJ Ford and he missed the whole year due to injury. TJ Ford in college really wasn’t any different than Chris Paul, Paul was the better 3 point shooter. I imagine the Bucks wanted to see what they had in Ford before selecting Paul.
Hindsight is 20/20, so it may be unfair to second guess, but I don’t remember thinking TJ Ford and Chris Paul seemed of the same quality. And it kind of proves my point – thinking a guy who shot 25% from 3 is the same as a guy who shot 47%. NBA teams don’t really think that way anymore.
Hmmm, I guess Ford was better in college than I remember. And maybe he would’ve been better in the pros if he hadn’t been injured. I still don’t think you pass on Chris Paul because you have a guy who shoots 23% from 3 and scored 7 a game and had a back injury.
I don’t think Trey and McCollum are a good comparison. McCollum went to Lehigh, while Paul did his damage in the ACC. And Trey’s and McCollum’s per 36 stats were pretty similar for the first two years in the NBA, though the latter shot better; Trey’s minutes were higher so he actually had significantly more points and assists. Trey shot 38% from 3 in college. McCollum was injured his senior year.
The point, though, is not even passing on Paul because you had Ford, but passing on Paul to select Bogut and Williams. Still seems crazy to me. But, like I said, hindsight is 20/20.
I think it was certainly fair for the Bucks to want to see what they had with Ford before deciding to draft Chris Paul. For example, I would not blame Philadelphia for passing on Josh Jackson this year if they really believe in Simmons, since both guys arguably play the same position. The Hawks? No excuse whatsoever.
Still we had the chance and blew it. Plus they hit a lot of shots they couldn’t replicate. I really think we are better than our record shows. Those two plus Wisconsin hard to swallow. 8-4 looks pretty good.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Syracuse get bounced in the first round. They’ve gotten upset by a bunch of random teams this year and Tyler Lydon has averaged 41 mpg over his last 10 games. Him and White will be dead by tourney time.
They’re unpredictable, so I could see that happening. But I was actually thinking the opposite–they’re the 9/10 seed that I think is most likely to make a deep run. I think their talent is better than their record indicates, and their 2-3 zone can be challenging if you’re not familiar with it and only have a day to prepare. Hell, I remember when Crean had 6 days to prepare for it as the #1 seed and IU still looked like they’d never seen that defense before.
Cuse barely made the tourney last year and went to the Final Four. They’ve made the E8 3 of the last 5 years and were ineligible one of the other two years. They certainly could lose early (or not make it at all), but I don’t think it’d count as a shock if they win a couple games. They have talent and that defense that can throw teams off.