This is kind of off topic, but as the NBA season winds down with our 2 rookies failing to continue to the playoffs, I thought I’d look over their stats a little bit.
First off is Trey Burke, the 9th overall pick in the draft by the Timberwolves, and then was traded to the Utah Jazz. The season started off very poorly for Burke, as he struggled in the summer league and then broke his Finger, which took him out for the first month of the season. When he was ready to return, the team was an absolute train wreck, at 1-14. He immediately improved their offense improving their ppg from 91.3 to 100.5 while winning 3 out of 4. While the season continued, it was clear what Burke was going to be, at least in his rookie year, and that was a floor general type point guard that needs to work on his shot and when that improves, could be a beast. His final stat line for the year, 12.5 ppg, 5.6 apg, and 2.9 rpg, looked decent at first sight, but after a closer look, it was obvious that he still has quite a long ways before he’s the player many think he may become. He was horribly inefficient, shooting 37.8% overall and 32.8% from three. On the other side, he posted a very respectable assist/turnover ratio of 3.1, which is good, especially for a rookie. As Utah’s season became worse, Utah gave him more freedom in the pick and roll, which is when his apg went up from 4.2 per game to 6.8. As I was watching some of Utah’s games, I noticed that he has great off ball movement, but his teammates had trouble getting him the ball, limiting his catch and shoot opportunities, which definitely would have helped his shooting. Overall, it was a decent start to a career that looks to have “solid starter” written all over it.
Burke’s final game: 32 points on 10/21 shooting, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 5 turnovers. Burke’s match up, Ricky Rubio, was held to 14 points on 4/13 shooting. The Jazz won in double overtime
The other draftee out of Michigan, Tim Hardaway Jr., was drafted 24th by the New York Knicks. Many called this a puzzling pick, saying Hardaway was a player with little upside. Well let’s just say at the end of the year, Daniel O’Brien did a “re-draft” of the 2013, and had Hardaway at 5. And that was just one of the many people that say he was a top 5 rookie. He ended up shocking most people, with a final stat line of 10.1 ppg, 0.8 apg, and 1.5 rbg. He also shot 36% from three and 43% overall, making him one of the best shooters from the draft. His stat line may look very “Zak Irvin”-ish, and that’s because it is. He was simply a catch and shoot guy, with the occasional amazing dunk (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1918110-tim-hardaway-jr-slams-putback-dunk-over-ray-allen) and he was wildly effective, being the only silver lining to an otherwise bad Knicks team full of failed trades and terrible draft picks. He also made the Rookie Showcase game somewhat watchable, getting into a shootout with Dion Waiters. I recommend watching that if you haven’t yet. In conclusion, he was the most surprising Rookie in the NBA this year, and it would be a surprise if he doesn’t start in 2014-15.
Welp that’s my “analysis” which I know, wasn’t very analytical at all, but with all the talk around here about a late addition and McGary, I thought I’d shake it up a little!