Is it time to start to be worried about Scoot being a bust?

[Moonbeam]

His monthly splits are trending in the right direction:

October (4 games): 8.3 PTS, 2.8 REB, 4.0 AST, 4.3 TOV, 0.3 BLK, 4.5 PF on 0.373 TS
November (5 games): 8.4 PPG, 2.2 REB, 4.6 AST, 3.0 TOV, 0.0 BLK, 3.6 PF on 0.425 TS
December (5 games): 15.6 PPG, 3.2 REB, 5.2 AST, 2.8 TOV, 0.4 BLK, 4.0 PF on 0.468 TS

He's still getting acclimated to the NBA but the signs of improvement are already there.

[Shem]

Watch on YouTube

[Roy The Natural]

I'm concerned at his inability to get to the rim. I'm less concerned at his inability to finish at the rim, as I can definitely see that improving (Dame was poor his rookie season - testament to him not facing many elite defensive big men in Weber State's college conference).

His handle needs improving big time. Shaedon has improved significantly from his rookie to sophomore seasons, so hopefully Scoot sees a similar jump.

And yeah, that jump shot is bad. He keeps shooting them though. I think he's trying to play too much like Dame, Chris Paul and Steph relative to his skillset.....

I actually think he gets to the rim okay considering his limitations.

His biggest skill based problems are his shooting, and his complete inability to go left. His handles are really loose, despite being fluid at handling the ball.

He has all the tools to be really good... Honestly he does... He just doesn't have anything that he's actually good at yet. Which is really worrisome.

[Roy The Natural]

I think so, because his most glaring issue is something so fundamental: he's a terrible shooter, and not just from 3, but from all over the court.

Would be interesting if someone could pull stats on what the average rate of 3pt improvement is for an NBA player over the course of their career. I don't think it's anywhere near enough to make Scoot a non bust. In other worse, we're banking on the long shot that he takes a quantum leap, one most players don't make, even if they come into the league very young (remember Telfair, Webster, Outlaw...)

Scoots TS% is 40%. Compare that to any number of guards that are considered to be not good offensively. It's really really bad.

Becoming even a league average shooter will be a monumental task for Scoot - especially from 3. When a guy late blooms into a 3PT shooter - I like to use the classic example of Brook Lopez - its generally correlated w/ being a historically good FT shooter (Brook was always in at least the high 70's from the line).

Right now the guys that Scoots rookie season statistically, both in raw and advanced stats, is close to are Muiday and Exum. Its not good company.

He's pretty similar to Garland as well

[zzaj]

Scoot is almost identical to Chauncey after this many games in his career.

[GreenRiddler]

Very similar to Fox’s rookie year struggles too. I’m not worried about him as he shows flashes just needs to develop. Biggest negative for him is he had an nba ready label which makes him seem worse than he is. Pretty much pretend he is straight out of HS cause he wasted those years in the g league developmental wise.

The main issue is I don’t see how on earth we make it work with him when we got great young guards in Ant and Sharpe.

[BlazersBroncos]

I think so, because his most glaring issue is something so fundamental: he's a terrible shooter, and not just from 3, but from all over the court.

Would be interesting if someone could pull stats on what the average rate of 3pt improvement is for an NBA player over the course of their career. I don't think it's anywhere near enough to make Scoot a non bust. In other worse, we're banking on the long shot that he takes a quantum leap, one most players don't make, even if they come into the league very young (remember Telfair, Webster, Outlaw...)

Scoots TS% is 40%. Compare that to any number of guards that are considered to be not good offensively. It's really really bad.

Becoming even a league average shooter will be a monumental task for Scoot - especially from 3. When a guy late blooms into a 3PT shooter - I like to use the classic example of Brook Lopez - its generally correlated w/ being a historically good FT shooter (Brook was always in at least the high 70's from the line).

Right now the guys that Scoots rookie season statistically, both in raw and advanced stats, is close to are Muiday and Exum. Its not good company.

He's pretty similar to Garland as well

Garland was a 35% 3PT shooter w/ 87% FT as a rookie. I am not convinced Scoot hits those figures anytime in his career.

Bledsoe is a much closer comp - and I think thats Scoot's middle-ground developmentally w/ Muiday as his bust scenario and maybe a Baron Davis as his high end outcome. I am not on board with any chance he ends up Rose / Westy tier - which was a longshot even before the warts started to shine.

We were a year late getting the #3 pick. I would trade Scoot and Sharpe for a Chet.

[JRoy]

Becoming even a league average shooter will be a monumental task for Scoot - especially from 3. When a guy late blooms into a 3PT shooter - I like to use the classic example of Brook Lopez - its generally correlated w/ being a historically good FT shooter (Brook was always in at least the high 70's from the line).

Right now the guys that Scoots rookie season statistically, both in raw and advanced stats, is close to are Muiday and Exum. Its not good company.

He's pretty similar to Garland as well

Garland was a 35% 3PT shooter w/ 87% FT as a rookie. I am not convinced Scoot hits those figures anytime in his career.

Bledsoe is a much closer comp - and I think thats Scoot's middle-ground developmentally w/ Muiday as his bust scenario and maybe a Baron Davis as his high end outcome. I am not on board with any chance he ends up Rose / Westy tier - which was a longshot even before the warts started to shine.

We were a year late getting the #3 pick. I would trade Scoot and Sharpe for a Chet.

Bledsoe might be apt.

Some physical tools, fair defensive player, weak shooter, weak playmaker.

[Roy The Natural]

He's pretty similar to Garland as well

Garland was a 35% 3PT shooter w/ 87% FT as a rookie. I am not convinced Scoot hits those figures anytime in his career.

Bledsoe is a much closer comp - and I think thats Scoot's middle-ground developmentally w/ Muiday as his bust scenario and maybe a Baron Davis as his high end outcome. I am not on board with any chance he ends up Rose / Westy tier - which was a longshot even before the warts started to shine.

We were a year late getting the #3 pick. I would trade Scoot and Sharpe for a Chet.

Bledsoe might be apt.

Some physical tools, fair defensive player, weak shooter, weak playmaker.

I think Scoot will end up being a much better playmaker than Bledsoe ever was. He's also a more fluid ball-handler than Bledsoe ever was.

[JRoy]

Garland was a 35% 3PT shooter w/ 87% FT as a rookie. I am not convinced Scoot hits those figures anytime in his career.

Bledsoe is a much closer comp - and I think thats Scoot's middle-ground developmentally w/ Muiday as his bust scenario and maybe a Baron Davis as his high end outcome. I am not on board with any chance he ends up Rose / Westy tier - which was a longshot even before the warts started to shine.

We were a year late getting the #3 pick. I would trade Scoot and Sharpe for a Chet.

Bledsoe might be apt.

Some physical tools, fair defensive player, weak shooter, weak playmaker.

I think Scoot will end up being a much better playmaker than Bledsoe ever was. He's also a more fluid ball-handler than Bledsoe ever was.

I hope you’re right but I would call Scoots handle fluid. He carries the ball and has no left hand.

[Roy The Natural]

Bledsoe might be apt.

Some physical tools, fair defensive player, weak shooter, weak playmaker.

I think Scoot will end up being a much better playmaker than Bledsoe ever was. He's also a more fluid ball-handler than Bledsoe ever was.

I hope you’re right but I would call Scoots handle fluid. He carries the ball and has no left hand.

I don't mean he has 1000 moves. I mean his hips are fluid and he's not as stiff as Bledsoe was when handling the ball. Yes, he has to tighten his handle up. So do a lot of rookies. But there's a difference between tightening up your handle when you love with it naturally and fluidly.

For example, I like his handles a lot more, and think he's a lot better at 19 than Simons was. Simons handles still aren't great, but they're serviceable.

Scoot can dribble with his left hand, obviously .. he just doesn't really have a blow by move in the direction.

[Norm2953]

I have less fears for Scoot but imagine how things would be if that last number in the draft had
come in for the Blazers.

We'd then be seeing Ayton, Victor and Jerami Grant in our FC with Dame (assuming he stayed), Ant
and Sharpe in the BC with Thybulle, Camara, Walker.

[The Sebastian Express]

Becoming even a league average shooter will be a monumental task for Scoot - especially from 3. When a guy late blooms into a 3PT shooter - I like to use the classic example of Brook Lopez - its generally correlated w/ being a historically good FT shooter (Brook was always in at least the high 70's from the line).

Right now the guys that Scoots rookie season statistically, both in raw and advanced stats, is close to are Muiday and Exum. Its not good company.

He's pretty similar to Garland as well

Garland was a 35% 3PT shooter w/ 87% FT as a rookie. I am not convinced Scoot hits those figures anytime in his career.

Bledsoe is a much closer comp - and I think thats Scoot's middle-ground developmentally w/ Muiday as his bust scenario and maybe a Baron Davis as his high end outcome. I am not on board with any chance he ends up Rose / Westy tier - which was a longshot even before the warts started to shine.

We were a year late getting the #3 pick. I would trade Scoot and Sharpe for a Chet.

Well Chet was taken two and Jabari was third. I'm pretty sure most of you would've been as myopic about Jabari last year as you are about Scoot now.

[DusterBuster]

I have less fears for Scoot but imagine how things would be if that last number in the draft had
come in for the Blazers.

We'd then be seeing Ayton, Victor and Jerami Grant in our FC with Dame (assuming he stayed), Ant
and Sharpe in the BC with Thybulle, Camara, Walker.

I will always wonder what Dame would have done had Portland got the #1 pick. I honestly can't say one way or another that Wemby would have been enough to convince him to stay. From all reports, his decision to leave Portland wasn't a snap decision, he had tons of people in his ear telling him to leave.

[Roy The Natural]

I have less fears for Scoot but imagine how things would be if that last number in the draft had
come in for the Blazers.

We'd then be seeing Ayton, Victor and Jerami Grant in our FC with Dame (assuming he stayed), Ant
and Sharpe in the BC with Thybulle, Camara, Walker.

I will always wonder what Dame would have done had Portland got the #1 pick. I honestly can't say one way or another that Wemby would have been enough to convince him to stay. From all reports, his decision to leave Portland wasn't a snap decision, he had tons of people in his ear telling him to leave.

I don't know, I'm happy for Dame, and happy to move on. Even if Scoot doesn't work out, I'm so ready to rebuild after a half decade of stagnation.

[JasonStern]

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[Shem]

Watch on YouTube

[Blazinaway]

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and when did he get his contacts and start wearing those goggles. Seems getting better vision and adjusting to that has likely helped his shooting a good bit

It was Nov 23 when he started wearing goggles and he had recently gotten and eye test and contacts, sorta fits the big improvement in shooting outside timeline

[The Sebastian Express]

If the contacts really did help him (which wouldn't surprise me), this only justifies my assertion that someone close to Westbrook should get him eye tests and contacts if he doesn't have them. The way he misses is so off that it feels like a depth judgment issue!

[Moonbeam]

His monthly splits are trending in the right direction:

October (4 games): 8.3 PTS, 2.8 REB, 4.0 AST, 4.3 TOV, 0.3 BLK, 4.5 PF on 0.373 TS
November (5 games): 8.4 PPG, 2.2 REB, 4.6 AST, 3.0 TOV, 0.0 BLK, 3.6 PF on 0.425 TS
December (5 games): 15.6 PPG, 3.2 REB, 5.2 AST, 2.8 TOV, 0.4 BLK, 4.0 PF on 0.468 TS

He's still getting acclimated to the NBA but the signs of improvement are already there.

Scoot finished December with 13 games played posting 14.9 PPG, 3.1 REB, 5.0 AST, 2.8 TOV, 0.3 BLK, 3.7 PF on 0.491 TS.

I'd like to see his shooting efficiency creep up toward 53% and his AST/TO ratio climb above 2, but his improvement throughout the season has been notable.