He really does. I don’t know that he can be the guy to dribble the ball until there’s 10 seconds left in a tie game and go get the winning bucket, and he’s got to tighten up his handle, but other than that I’m really excited. I thought his lack of first step/burst was going to be a bigger issue, but so many times he just finds himself at the rim for an easy finish nonetheless.
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Agreed, I see him getting stronger. He is the old saying…”be quick but don’t rush”
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He’s also an example of how guys can figure things out along the way. He was pretty awful early and is never going to be an elite athlete, but he’s figured out how to unlock his talent despite being on a bad roster. Excited for his future.
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He’s hit a bunch of clutch shots already. He’s athletic enough and he’s got a full bag. He’s been as good as advertised.
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Def clutch. The fourth-quarter stats are there. I just worry about the bogged-down last-two possessions scenarios when nobody cuts or moves. Such a small worry, really.
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Cade went and got his own bucket late against the Raptors and also late against someone else that I’m blanking on. But like, creating his own shot late in the game is something we’ve seen him do a couple times.
I think it was the Celts game, or it might have been another, where, in the last two minutes, with the offense stagnant as it so often it, and you rely on your best player to just bull his way to a shot, Cade had a turnover and a charge. That’s the stuff I’m talking about. Not just the fourth quarter in general. Those very specific last-few-possessions scenarios where a killer first step and burst are needed.
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Yeah I mean he is still a rookie. I guess I’m just saying I feel like he’s shown quite a bit to show that there is the makings of the “clutch gene” there
Is Luca Donic’s first step and burst considered to be explosive?
Not at all. He just uses a handful of moves and deception. Which is similar to what Cade does.
Honestly… Cade is able to create WAY more separation than I thought he would be able to coming out of the draft. He gets to his spots and he gets open shots. Some of them just haven’t been falling early in the season.
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Who remembers Darko Milicich’s interview after an international game between Serbia and Greece?
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The #2 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, ladies and gentlemen. Oof.
The great debate: was he just a gigantic scouting miss, or did Larry Brown kill his confidence?
This reminds me of the craziest thing I found out last week…
NBA and NCAA championship winning Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown is an assistant coach at Memphis. WTehF
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Probably both. It was almost consensus that he was the number two pick in that draft, so everybody was off the mark on scouting. I think being more a developmental prospect, paired with a team that was in win now mode wasn’t an ideal situational fit either.
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I guess another possibility is that maybe he just came to the US too young. Maybe with a couple more years in Europe he could have matured more as a player and person.
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I remember way too much about Darko. Prefer to remember nothing at all.
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We could have had a dynasty. Somehow, in a year where we’d go on to win the NBA championship, in a draft with Dwayne Wade, Lebron, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, we picked Darko.
Otoh, it’s unknown if Dumars still would have made the trade for Sheed if he had drafted one of the others. That trade put them over the top.
In an alternate timeline where he drafts Carmelo, maybe he has a long career in Detroit but doesn’t win it all.
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The killer story out there was that Denver wanted to trade up with us. Getting either Bosh, Melo, or Wade AND some extra compensation?
Oof.
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This is true. Although maybe taking Bosh and having the money to resign Okur and/or Corliss could’ve turned out very well. Likely no title in '04, though.
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