Rookie impressions thread: PRESEASON/REGULAR SEASON

[Greek]

Giannis full highlights from last night

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIJtSZgPLes[/youtube]

[FrieAaron]

Also I'm not a fan of giving young players guaranteed heavy minutes, because the idea that if you play young players a lot they'll eventually get better is very flawed and leads to lack of accountability. Wizards were probably the worst at that when they played McGee and Blatche a lot and are doing similar with Beal. I would not be suprised if Beal turns into another OJ Mayo just because of that.

Guaranteed minutes? Giannis minutes so far this season:
5, 12, 17, 22, 19, 12, 15, 12, 12, 13, 28, 15, 28, 20, 14, 10, 33, 24, 35, 42 23, 35, 36, 34

Notice the upward trend? they had no intention to play him very much to start the season but he's earned a starting spot because the team is noticeably better when he's on the floor.

[Upper Decker]

Checking in with another update of Otto Porter. He is quietly and quickly becoming a complete and abject disaster. Between Bennett and Porter I'm not sure who's a bigger bust.

Porters stats thus far:

1.4PPG, 0.3APG, 1.6RPG, 0.1SPG .294FG% PER 2.3

He's completely invisible on the court. Has there ever been a time where two of the top three picks were such complete busts?

[breakchains]

Also I'm not a fan of giving young players guaranteed heavy minutes, because the idea that if you play young players a lot they'll eventually get better is very flawed and leads to lack of accountability. Wizards were probably the worst at that when they played McGee and Blatche a lot and are doing similar with Beal. I would not be suprised if Beal turns into another OJ Mayo just because of that.

Guaranteed minutes? Giannis minutes so far this season:
5, 12, 17, 22, 19, 12, 15, 12, 12, 13, 28, 15, 28, 20, 14, 10, 33, 24, 35, 42 23, 35, 36, 34

Notice the upward trend? they had no intention to play him very much to start the season but he's earned a starting spot because the team is noticeably better when he's on the floor.

didn't include the DNPs.

[Johnlac1]

I guess if you compare Giannis to another young player, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (who I like a lot), Giannis is longer and a better shooter. That's probably the one area of his game that apart from simple adjustment to the league, he'll have to improve.

[Big A All Day]

Seriously, he's 19, too much is being made of that. Two other players in the NBA are 19 too, 15 players are 20, which is not much older either. 15 players have entered the league younger than Giannis in history, so it's not as big a deal as it's being made out to be.

How is too much being made of that? There's a reason why freshman or high school players are more coveted then seniors, because they have more maturing in their game. Being young usually means you have more room for your game to grow. Hell, Giannis isn't even done growing physically yet.Giannis is showing a ton at a very young age, it obviously means more then someone who's had 1-2-3+ years in college. It always has, it always will.

And its hilarious that you bring up that 15 players younger were in the league when that can't even happen anymore and you know it but still use it to support your argument. Hell, most of the players on that list that showed anything this young were superstars.

People need 2 chill out with all the "he's not even done growing yet" BS. Just because he's 18 doesnt mean he's going to magically sprout a extra foot in all directions on his 19th birthday. Your not a Dr and not everybody's Paul George. Even if he doesn't grow another inch the dudes 6"10.

[Novocaine]

Seriously, he's 19, too much is being made of that. Two other players in the NBA are 19 too, 15 players are 20, which is not much older either. 15 players have entered the league younger than Giannis in history, so it's not as big a deal as it's being made out to be.

How is too much being made of that? There's a reason why freshman or high school players are more coveted then seniors, because they have more maturing in their game. Being young usually means you have more room for your game to grow. Hell, Giannis isn't even done growing physically yet.Giannis is showing a ton at a very young age, it obviously means more then someone who's had 1-2-3+ years in college. It always has, it always will.

And its hilarious that you bring up that 15 players younger were in the league when that can't even happen anymore and you know it but still use it to support your argument. Hell, most of the players on that list that showed anything this young were superstars.

People need 2 chill out with all the "he's not even done growing yet" BS. Just because he's 18 doesnt mean he's going to magically sprout a extra foot in all directions on his 19th birthday. Your not a Dr and not everybody's Paul George. Even if he doesn't grow another inch the dudes 6"10.

Pretty sure that people aren't saying that because of his age rather because medical exams showed his growth plate is still open.

[MountainDrew]

Am I the only one that thinks him possibly still growing might not be a good thing? What position would he play if he actually gets to 7 foot? He would be so easily to strip when dribbling, should he become a power forward, even though he doesn't have the muscle for it? I think they're legitimate concerns. Now don't get me wrong, I think he's a special talent with the most upside in the draft, but I'm not sure him growing to 7 is necessarily going to help his game as some people seem to think.

I also watched Trey Burke last night, seems like a good point guard. Can run the pick and roll and make some jumpshots, but I don't see where the hype is coming from, he didn't wow me with anything.

[Ayt]

Seriously, he's 19, too much is being made of that. Two other players in the NBA are 19 too, 15 players are 20, which is not much older either. 15 players have entered the league younger than Giannis in history, so it's not as big a deal as it's being made out to be.

How is too much being made of that? There's a reason why freshman or high school players are more coveted then seniors, because they have more maturing in their game. Being young usually means you have more room for your game to grow. Hell, Giannis isn't even done growing physically yet.Giannis is showing a ton at a very young age, it obviously means more then someone who's had 1-2-3+ years in college. It always has, it always will.

And its hilarious that you bring up that 15 players younger were in the league when that can't even happen anymore and you know it but still use it to support your argument. Hell, most of the players on that list that showed anything this young were superstars.

People need 2 chill out with all the "he's not even done growing yet" BS. Just because he's 18 doesnt mean he's going to magically sprout a extra foot in all directions on his 19th birthday. Your not a Dr and not everybody's Paul George. Even if he doesn't grow another inch the dudes 6"10.

From DX last February

He has great size at 6-9, 196 pounds, to go along with a developed upper body and an overall terrific frame that should fill out considerably in time. His wingspan has reportedly been measured at 7-3, but perhaps most interesting is the size of his hands, as he's able to palm the ball like a grapefruit which helps him out considerably as a passer, ball-handler and finisher.

Exceptionally smooth and fluid, Adetokunbo still hasn't reached his full potential as an athlete, which makes sense if you consider he turned 18 three months ago and has grown 8 cm (a little over three inches) in the past ten months—and still might not be done growing. He's still working on his balance on the defensive end, and isn't an incredibly explosive leaper—something that could change as his lower body strength improves.

Earlier this month.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball- ... --nba.html

Not only is Antetokounmpo’s game growing, so is his body. When the Bucks drafted him in June, he was 6-9. Now, just more than five months later, he has added more than an inch to his lanky frame.

“I am now 6-10 and one quarter,” Antetokounmpo said smiling.

He then paused before adding, “I still have 3½ years to grow.”

Indeed, doctors have informed Antetokounmpo and Bucks officials that the former’s growth plate is still open. In all likelihood, he’ll become a 7-footer.

So he's grown roughly 4.5 inches in the last 20 months. His body obviously still needs to grow into those gigantic hands.

Am I the only one that thinks him possibly still growing might not be a good thing? What position would he play if he actually gets to 7 foot? He would be so easily to strip when dribbling, should he become a power forward, even though he doesn't have the muscle for it? I think they're legitimate concerns. Now don't get me wrong, I think he's a special talent with the most upside in the draft, but I'm not sure him growing to 7 is necessarily going to help his game as some people seem to think.

The big thing with Giannis and his height is that he's lost almost no fluidity and coordination as he's gotten taller. I don't think an extra inch or two is going to matter at this point.

This is just from last night. Look at how comfortable he is dribbling the ball at high speed with both hands after grabbing rebounds.

http://stats.nba.com//cvp.html?GameID=0 ... r%20Season

He handles and moves like a huge PG.

On this play, he takes one hesitation dribble from 25 feet out and blows by KG for the dunk. That is ridiculous.

http://stats.nba.com/cvp.html?GameID=00 ... ventID=274

This play shows his awareness as a passer.

http://stats.nba.com/cvp.html?GameID=00 ... ventID=324

I'm a Bucks fan. Before the season started, I predicted he'd play about 500 minutes total on the season getting PT only in blowouts. I saw the talent and the physical tools, but I thought he'd be way too raw to actually compete against NBA competition. He's the youngest player in the league by 4 months and he was coming from the 2nd level in Greece. I didn't think there was any way he'd be ready to contribute at the NBA level.

My god was I wrong. He's one of the best prospects I've seen in years. Beyond his physical attributes and his skills, the best thing I can say about him is that his box score stats don't do him justice at all. That is an enormous compliment for such a young player.

[Greek]

How Giannis athleticism is compared to Durant on the same age?

[MikeM]

How does this kid get picked 15th in the worst draft of all time? If I saw this guy and Bennett in the same gym and you told me Giannis was #15 pick, I would say Bennett was picked in the middle of the 2nd round.

[SOUL]

Still not convinced about his shot but hopefully that will come around (just as I hope Oladipo's threes will come around), but I'm really impressed with how he runs the floor and how he controls his body, especially vs the Nets.

[24istheLAW]

The thing is, the most impressive thing about Giannis is his ability to alter shots. You can't measure that in a box score. Got to actually watch the games to appreciate it. When he goes up to contest a shot he practically blocks out the sun.

[MiltownHawkeye]

What I love about Giannis is that there don't seem to be any GLARING flaws in his game. It's hard to even come up with them. His jump shot hasn't been anything spectacular, but it's nowhere close to being broken. His free throw shooting was looking abysmal, yet he's shooting ~85% in his last 8 games on over 5 attempts a game. He's kind of a spaz when he's off-ball but that's nitpicking. He might never be able to bang in the post as much as you'd want a 6'10-7' player to, but his body is still growing.

[Browns16]

Well Bennett still wasn't very good but he actually contributed today

[thelead]

Giannis is going to be special but they're going to have to turn him into a bit of a post player. While he's quick right now, you're probably going to want to see him put some weight on that frame. Giannis at PF with a post-up game to go with his face-up game would be scary.

[MiltownHawkeye]

Its kind of weird to refer to his face-up game considering that's 90% of his game. Its not like he's a 4 that is surprisingly quick and good at handling, he's a 3 all the way.

[Baddy Chuck]

People need 2 chill out with all the "he's not even done growing yet" BS. Just because he's 18 doesnt mean he's going to magically sprout a extra foot in all directions on his 19th birthday. Your not a Dr and not everybody's Paul George. Even if he doesn't grow another inch the dudes 6"10.

Or theres the fact that, you know, he actually has grown from the time of the draft. I'm not saying he's going to be Manute Bol but he's in his gangly awkward teenage years right now, one would have to imagine he'll only get better once he matures physically into his body.

[thelead]

Its kind of weird to refer to his face-up game considering that's 90% of his game. Its not like he's a 4 that is surprisingly quick and good at handling, he's a 3 all the way.

That's why I said he should add a post-up game to go with his face-up game.

[TheBigThree]

Checking in with another update of Otto Porter. He is quietly and quickly becoming a complete and abject disaster. Between Bennett and Porter I'm not sure who's a bigger bust.

Porters stats thus far:

1.4PPG, 0.3APG, 1.6RPG, 0.1SPG .294FG% PER 2.3

He's completely invisible on the court. Has there ever been a time where two of the top three picks were such complete busts?

Porter hasn't even played in 2 full games worth of action, settle down.

Not that I think Porter is going to be a star with such a broken jumper, but he'll start to contribute soon enough.