Zach LaVine

[jpengland]

He is unlikely to play PG IMO, which means he is guarding 2s or 3s and i'm not sure quite how well he will translate as a lock down defender, he has a lot of tools but he is still a little undersized and he needs to improve his foot speed, he COULD be a great defender, he will probably be an above average defender at worst.

At worst? This guy has no idea how to play defense as it stands. Absolutely none. At worst he'll be James Harden on that end. There is a lot more to defense than physical tools especially, for non-centers. He can learn and improve, but his worst case scenario is atrocious, not "above average".

Ermmmm try rereading the post and quote.....

[Notanoob]

he COULD be a great defender, he will probably be an above average defender at worst.

At worst? This guy has no idea how to play defense as it stands. Absolutely none. At worst he'll be James Harden on that end. There is a lot more to defense than physical tools especially, for non-centers. He can learn and improve, but his worst case scenario is atrocious, not "above average".

Ermmmm try rereading the post and quote.....

Not sure what I'm missing here. "Could be great, probably above average at worst." And I disagree entirely. Sure, you say he isn't a certain thing there, but I find it odd that you'd suggest he'll be"probably above average at worst" at defense.

[jpengland]

At worst? This guy has no idea how to play defense as it stands. Absolutely none. At worst he'll be James Harden on that end. There is a lot more to defense than physical tools especially, for non-centers. He can learn and improve, but his worst case scenario is atrocious, not "above average".

Ermmmm try rereading the post and quote.....

Not sure what I'm missing here. "Could be great, probably above average at worst." And I disagree entirely. Sure, you say he isn't a certain thing there, but I find it odd that you'd suggest he'll be"probably above average at worst" at defense.

Yep I did say that.

Try again.....

[Notanoob]

Ermmmm try rereading the post and quote.....

Not sure what I'm missing here. "Could be great, probably above average at worst." And I disagree entirely. Sure, you say he isn't a certain thing there, but I find it odd that you'd suggest he'll be"probably above average at worst" at defense.

Yep I did say that.

Try again.....

Oh man, never mind.

You guys were a bit off topic though.

[AgentZer0]

The Westbrook comparisons are just lazy and wrong. His story as a late bloomer who went to UCLA obviously parallels Westbrook, but not once while watching tape on him did I think "That's Westbrook-esque right there." His effortless bounce and ability to shoot brings Gerald Green to mind. I think he'll win a dunk contest or two in the next few years as his hops are just ridiculous. He isn't as quick as his leaping ability would lead you to think and isn't a great ball handler, which explains why he isn't great at getting to the rim for such a great athlete. More often than not, players like LaVine end up having successful careers. He's far from a finished project but could end up being the steal of the draft.

I wrote a complete scouting report on LaVine here, as well as scouting reports for other projected top picks here: http://freeagentzero.com/2014/06/16/nba ... ch-lavine/

[miltk]

The Westbrook comparisons are just lazy and wrong. His story as a late bloomer who went to UCLA obviously parallels Westbrook, but not once while watching tape on him did I think "That's Westbrook-esque right there." His effortless bounce and ability to shoot brings Gerald Green to mind. I think he'll win a dunk contest or two in the next few years as his hops are just ridiculous. He isn't as quick as his leaping ability would lead you to think and isn't a great ball handler, which explains why he isn't great at getting to the rim for such a great athlete. More often than not, players like LaVine end up having successful careers. He's far from a finished project but could end up being the steal of the draft.

I wrote a complete scouting report on LaVine here, as well as scouting reports for other projected top picks here: http://freeagentzero.com/2014/06/16/nba ... ch-lavine/

i agree with your conclusions but your missing a few things. that 37%,,,,, was 31% from the missouri game(9th game)going forward. too many players have been considered frail or thin to take such a criticism seriously. there's just a litany of faults in zach that i have already opined.

i think people have to be guarded about the illusory effect of lavine's style. he's VERY stylish but did you know he and nick johnson have almost identical verts. but johnson's leaps looks ponderous compared to zach's. zach has this sprite pogo stick style. and yet johnson has done some serious facials and lavine has done NONE which makes the westbrook comparisons preposterous

[Dr Positivity]

Anybody like Monta as a comp?

For all the talk of boom or bust he'll probably end up being neither, instead a top 15 starting SG but not an all-star *shrug*

[j-ragg]

He could be a taller Monta... he could be a Rodney Carney. Hard to tell with this kid.

[Klomp]

The Timberwolves front office has reportedly fallen hard for the spectacular athleticism of UCLA's freshman, and sees him as a likely star in the making.

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft-extended.php

[Notanoob]

The Timberwolves front office has reportedly fallen hard for the spectacular athleticism of UCLA's freshman, and sees him as a likely star in the making.

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft-extended.php

I feel bad for you guys if they draft him. He's done nothing to earn a first round pick.

[Klomp]

I feel bad for you guys if they draft him. He's done nothing to earn a first round pick.

Per40 and Advanced stats very similar to Russell Westbrook at UCLA.

[Notanoob]

I feel bad for you guys if they draft him. He's done nothing to earn a first round pick.

Per40 and Advanced stats very similar to Russell Westbrook at UCLA.

That comparison is laughable and you know it. I use stats plenty but would never dream of making the comparison, and Westbrook significantly outperformed his projections based on his college production.

Was a poor shooter after a hot start.

Terrified of contact.

Poor finisher, inflated his FG% with transition buckets gotten from playing a gamble-heavy zone defense.

Avoided shooting with a hand in his face, I don't think that he can deal with the pressure.

Awful defender with no instincts or fundamentals.

Rarely handled the ball or did much slashing.

If he didn't have a hot start from beyond the ark he would be a second round pick for sure.

[Klomp]

That comparison is laughable and you know it. I use stats plenty but would never dream of making the comparison, and Westbrook significantly outperformed his projections based on his college production.

Did I say Zach LaVine will be as good as Russell Westbrook?

All I pointed out that many of their statistical metrics in college were similar, which they are.

[Notanoob]

That comparison is laughable and you know it. I use stats plenty but would never dream of making the comparison, and Westbrook significantly outperformed his projections based on his college production.

Did I say Zach LaVine will be as good as Russell Westbrook?

All I pointed out that many of their statistical metrics in college were similar, which they are.

Just because you didn't literally say that, doesn't mean you didn't imply it. You compared LaVine to Westbrook for a reason.