Ryan Kelly

[Komodo]

I just added him in a dynasty league, cheap 3-year deal. What are your thoughts on him and future expectations?

[Sofa King]

We had a thread about him before. Someone thought he would be the next Dirk. Then we all laughed and smiled and had a good time.

[Slava]

D'Antoni liked him, not sure how Scott would use him though. He's a heady, smart and skilled player who'll surprise you with a complete game than just be a shooter. Average defensively. Like with a lot of 2nd year players, the coach will dictate a lot of their minutes.

[hermes]

he's the best

[PKABOOICU]

he has robert horry stretch 4 potential without the defense, at best.

[LApwnd]

better version of Red Rocket Bonner

[ROballer]

f*cking Carlos Boozer man

Ryan Beast gonna be glued to the bench

[Marionettetc]

Wait till Miles gets a whiff of this thread.

[Fresh360Waves]

D'Antoni liked him, not sure how Scott would use him though. He's a heady, smart and skilled player who'll surprise you with a complete game than just be a shooter. Average defensively. Like with a lot of 2nd year players, the coach will dictate a lot of their minutes.

Probably limited minutes based on matchups.

[Doormatt]

hes a **** fantasy player if thats what your asking. real life he could be a decent player but he will never ever get the minutes to be relevant in fantasy with the lakers drafting randle.

[Tiesto_Lakers]

D'Antoni liked him so much he squeezed him in as a "Stretch 3" at times.

This year, he'll be buried on the bench unless a big or 2 gets injured.

[milesfides]

We had a thread about him before. Someone thought he would be the next Dirk. Then we all laughed and smiled and had a good time.

Oh, just shut up.

The Lakers are probably hoping Ryan Kelly makes the kind of jump that Dirk did after his first year. Meaning, not into MVP Dirk, but the 17.5 point, 6.5 rebound solid player.

Dirk's never been a great rebounder for a 4 - probably because he played more like a wing anyway. That's not really going to change for Kelly, because he plays like Dirk.

First, calm down. I'm talking overall skill set.

1. Range.
He can hit the three. 33% isn't great. It's pretty solid for a rookie who didn't play in a consistent system, without any healthy point guards to give the ball to him in his spots. Eye test showed me that Kelly was reaching for too many shots instead of shooting it in rhythm.

Why is that important? Because he's 7 feet tall. He's going to be matched up against a big who has to come all the way out, opening the floor for Kobe, Hill, and Randle. Also because of his height, he can get that shot off over anybody.

This is unique.

2. Playmaking
For a 7 footer to be able to pass like him is unique. 1.6 assists isn't amazing. In 22 minutes, a bit more impressive, in fact, his assist per minute is close to top 10 among power forwards, which is impressive for a guy who doesn't get the offense run through him...as the fourth option. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 2nd among all power forwards. His assist ratio, the percentage of his possessions that end up in an assist, is higher than Tim Duncan's or Kevin Love's - this isn't a just a shooter.

Why is that important? Because he's 7 feet tall. He can see the entire floor and pass over the defense. That means he'll be another playmaker on the floor, and his unselfishness will help get his teammates involved instead of just being a spot up shooter.

3. Ability to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket.

Block, coast to coast layup against the Spurs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7A7XlCZ-50

33% of Ryan Kelly's shots came right at the rim. 10% of Dirk's came at the rim. And Ryan Kelly isn't living in the post - he's on the perimeter. This means Kelly is attacking the basket, often. A 7-footer who is able to do that is very unique.

He can move without the ball:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUdvoj8mQuI

Or put it on the floor and get past his defender.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIMt1RG676s

All of the above happens in the NBA all the time. But not when you're a 7 footer.

Kelly steals the inbounds pass (cause he's 7 feet), then avoids a defender with a quick behind the back and a few big strides for the dunk.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cna7mcESLaU[/youtube]


Bottom line...

Ryan Kelly isn't that raw. He knows how to play the game, and he's got a little niceness (or nastiness) to his game. His biggest issue is he needs to get stronger - again, like Dirk. Not change his physique and mess up his game, but just get stronger and acclimated to the physicality after rookie year. And of course his shot needs to get better, despite obviously having a good stroke - again, like Dirk. That comes with summer training, learning how to get into rhythm within the speed of the game. But really, even his shooting numbers for a rookie are pretty good. I expect them to get even better.

The Lakers are very high on him, because if you combine all the skills he has, he's less Ryan Anderson, Rashard Lewis, Andrea Bargnani...and much more Dirk.

A legit 7-footer who plays the game like a guard. Pretty damn rare.

Obviously Dirk made that huge jump his sophomore year and became one of the greatest to ever play.

I'm excited to see what Kelly brings this year, because apparently he's been working his ass off every day. Confident guy who has high expectations of himself.

http://www.twcsportsnet.com/videos/2014 ... f-the-year


I know a lot of people want to start Randle right away. I think Randle would be a lot better coming off the bench and getting more shots and punishing second units.

I want to see Kelly playing 30mpg and getting plenty of touches.

Metta World Peace on Ryan Kelly:

"He's stronger than Kevin Durant was when he came in and can do basically the same things, but he has to start now."

I see more Dirk than Durant, but I think the point stands...free Kelly, we don't have much to lose, let's see if we got a major piece on our hands.

[DEEP3CL]

Kelly has to improve on defense to see any meaningful minutes period. His weakness defensively is overall strength , foot speed and athleticism . Being 6'10" he has to or should be able to cover 4's and possess enough foot speed to blitz 3's.

Problem is he doesn't have a defensive foundation, not saying he can't develop it or figure it our. You don't have to be a brute to be a defender, but you have to posses one or two of the 3 traits I mentioned. Horry had two of the three and that's why he excelled on D.

[milesfides]

First, Ryan Kelly, Ryan Kelly wasn't in great shape last year because he was recovering from a broken foot. That's a fact. As an out-of-shape rookie recovering from a major foot surgery, Kelly posted a better block rate per 48 than guys like Chris Bosh (1.48) or LaMarcus Aldridge (1.31). For reference, Kelly's blocks per 48 is a solid 1.65, compared to veteran established power forwards like David West (1.44), Blake Griffin (0.86), Dirk Nowitzki (0.82), Kevin Love (0.60), Carlos Boozer (.49), and Zach Randolph (0.41).

Steals per 48, Kelly bests Tim Duncan, Zach Randolph, Kevin Love, or athletic and energetic hustle players like our own Jordan Hill and Ed Davis.

Again, this is a out-of-shape rookie recovering from foot surgery who according to you, lacks "strength, foot speed, and athleticism."

Second, Kelly never even had the summer of crazy training almost all draftees do because they want to get drafted high and do well. This was his first real NBA training summer. And considering his well-documented summer of training, he went at it pretty hard - even during his honeymoon. He looks lean and mean, so I expect him to be noticeably stronger, quicker, and more athletic. I think those are very reasonable expectations.

Lastly, the important part is team defense. Not individual defense. If things were just about individual defense, Nash would never have made it in the NBA. It's what you bring on offense and defense, both in the context of a team's offense and team's defense. I actually think Kelly for the most part played earnest defense individually and was one of our better players with team defense. Now D'Antoni's defense was a mess and nobody was held accountable, so Kelly exerting himself on that end shows me a guy who takes pride in his defense.

He was known for his defense during Duke, and the fact is that even with his solid blocks and steals and naturally covering for his teammates, he was 27th in the NBA last year in drawing charges, tied with the infamous charge-chaser Paul Pierce. The next best Laker had half the number of charges, Robert Sacre, 63rd in the league.

So to me, no, perhaps Ryan Kelly doesn't have elite athleticism, but to me he showed natural defensive instincts and some quality defensive tools, and the fact that he naturally covers for his teammates and sacrifices his body, to me, that pride and work on defense means more in both a practical and theoretical sense than an elite freak athlete who doesn't care about defense.

[ALL HAIL]

I can't believe no one has mentioned rebounding.

He is an atrocious Bargnani-level rebounder who gives you little hope of improvement when you look at his abysmal college rebounding numbers as well.

Besides rebounding, he's a very solid player.

If he had averaged more than five rebounds as a seven-footer in college, he would have easily been a lottery pick.

[tugs]

Was about to say rebounding.

I agree he's a jack of all trades type and what makes it special is he does it at almost 7'. the downside is that the one thing you are expected to do with that height is rebound and he wasn't doing it as much as we expect him to grab boards.

makes me think he can shift to 3 and just develop that lateral speed.

[milesfides]

LOL what do you mean nobody mentioned rebounding? Everybody mentions Kelly's lack of rebounding, including me, and that was included in the quoted post.

His rebounding was similar to Dirk's rookie season, which isn't surprising because Dirk was more of a small forward early in his career before he was used as a stretch four. Kelly was also used sometimes as a SF, and his rebounding is indicative of that.

His rebounding, as a rookie coming off foot surgery, under D'Antoni, is about the same per 36 as Thaddeus Young's or Marcus Morris's - guys who are between 3's and 4's.

So yes, my hope is that Kelly improves his rebounding, that would certainly help him be a complete player, but the reality is that there are established effective power forwards in this league with similar (Dirk last season) or worse rebounding rates (Boris Diaw).

But I think it's reasonable to expect he'll be a better rebounder this season in better shape, and under Byron Scott's more predictable offenses and sets.

And lastly, you have to look at how he fits in the team. Next to Jordan Hill, one of the league's top rebounders, you can get away with a flex four without losing too much. But your team gains a lot by having the floor spaced for Jeremy Lin to get into the paint, and Kobe Bryant and Jordan Hill to do work in the post. Even if Kelly's individual offensive production won't be great, he allows his teammates to be effective because of his ability to shoot and pass as a big man, which makes us overall a better team.

And that's why the stretch four has evolved into being a critical component of successful teams in the NBA today.

[ALL HAIL]

I like the lineup you propose ... offensively, as well, but much like when you first shared it, that lineup really, really, really lacks rebounding.

Even with Hill, It's difficult to field Kelly without "masking" him (rebounding-wise) with MORE guys who are above average rebounders.

[TARIQ]

Keith Van Horn

[Dr Aki]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/517407861882626048[/tweet]