The OFFICIAL Rookie impressions thread pt. II

[Left Side Drive]

Terrence Ross: 7-14 FG 4-5 3PM 7 Rebounds and 18 points against the Sixers.

He looked really aggressive this game and looked for his own shot. He was on fire from beyond the ark. Has hops and is using it to get key rebounds as well. Already outperforming DeRozan when given the opportunity

[branny]

Jeez Brad Beal continues to light it up.
Another huge game: 23 points 4 assists on 8-13 shooting 4-7 from 3.

Kid has been playing like a top 5 SG in the NBA in 2013

Wizard's backcourt is gonna be awesome. Just as exciting as Detroit's frontcourt to me.

[dolphinatik]

with Beal we will see how hungry he is. If he works hard he can be one of the best in the current NBA with a Ray Allen meets Grant Hill type ceiling. HE is known as being a shooter but his shot wasnt falling. Now that it is I hope he still continues to work on it staying humble and hungry.

[Hero]

Terrence Ross: 7-14 FG 4-5 3PM 7 Rebounds and 18 points against the Sixers.

He looked really aggressive this game and looked for his own shot. He was on fire from beyond the ark. Has hops and is using it to get key rebounds as well. Already outperforming DeRozan when given the opportunity

Is he really?
7 pts , 0 pts, 4 pts and 0 pts in his 4 previous games.Defensively he is better but overall nope. He is very streaky but I like that he's rebounding.

[Left Side Drive]

Terrence Ross: 7-14 FG 4-5 3PM 7 Rebounds and 18 points against the Sixers.

He looked really aggressive this game and looked for his own shot. He was on fire from beyond the ark. Has hops and is using it to get key rebounds as well. Already outperforming DeRozan when given the opportunity

Is he really?
7 pts , 0 pts, 4 pts and 0 pts in his 4 previous games.Defensively he is better but overall nope. He is very streaky but I like that he's rebounding.

Well I guess not from a statistical point of view, but you must admit that if Ross can put it all together, which is very likely, he has a much wider skill set than DeRozan. The key for him is to find a way to utilize his first step to get to the rim. Composure and confidence will come in time but he is more promising of a SG than DD overall.

[Choker]

Well I guess not from a statistical point of view, but you must admit that if Ross can put it all together, which is very likely, he has a much wider skill set than DeRozan. The key for him is to find a way to utilize his first step to get to the rim. Composure and confidence will come in time but he is more promising of a SG than DD overall.

Ignore Hero, he'll shoot down any boner when it comes to Ross, even before it gets hard.

With that said Ross has one glaringly big flaw to his game; he can't draw fouls nor can he penetrate. This is exactly what's holding Rajon Rondo back from being undeniably the best point guard in the game, but Ross doesn't excel at any one given area to compensate like Rondo, for now. I mean I still haven't seen him attempting a lay up. He's dunked it, he's posted up, threw some pretty cool nifty hook shots off of screens, and some floaters too, but not a single lay up. And yes that one lacking of ability is enough to overthrow the lights out shooting and excellent defense.

I'm still high on the kid, and he can most definitely be one of those glue guys starting on a championship contender types, but on lesser teams without those luxuries I honestly think he's more of a spark plug off the bench. Granted an AWESOME spark plug who actually plays defense.

[Jimmy Recard]

[JordanL]

I love Roy as much as the next guy but he was never going to make the elite tier jump that would put him in the same company with Kobe and Wade. I think that much was obvious. Roy was not a terrible athlete but he was still limited enough athletically that you probably didn't see him as a serious MVP candidate waiting to happen.

Somewhat of situation here although Lillard being a lot better than Roy was in his rookie campaign.

I don't see Lillard taking any huge leaps from here on out. He'll sharpen both his IQ, better pace himself, gain more experience, etc. Lillard isn't an eye popping athlete and he doesn't do anything that leaves you breathless but he does a lot of little things right that a lot of players take years to figure out.

He is well on his way to becoming one of the more intelligent mature players at the PG spot and I think he's closer to a finished product than most his age and fans want to believe. I think Lillard will have a Chauncey Billups type of career. He'll won't be great (Not Steve Nash, Chris Paul great) but he'll be really good for a long, long time.

1. I won't argue with you about whether Roy could have or was a top-teir player. I just suggest you go watch more of his games in Portland.

2. Eye-popping atheleticism is very rarely what makes a top-teir player. It's skill. Look at Wade, Kobe, Jordan, Stockton, Magic, etc. The best players are *skilled* and can use their skills *effectively*.

3. It's fairly... stupid to think that Lillard will never be better than his first 35 games in the NBA. I don't know how you even thought that was a good idea to say.

[ComboGuardCity]

For the record Roy was a top tier player IMO.

[Optms]

1. I won't argue with you about whether Roy could have or was a top-teir player. I just suggest you go watch more of his games in Portland.

I watched him plenty. He was never in the company of Kobe, Lebron and Wade. Or even Howard or Paul. He was in the Deron Williams, Pau Gasol, Nowitizki, KG crop.

He was already 25. You may have a decent argument if we were discussing a 20 year old with his skills. But at 25, we have a great picture of who you are as a basketball player.

Chris Paul at 25? Superstar. Kobe? Superstar. Lebron, Howard, Nowitizki, Wade, etc. At 25 great players don't make any monumental jumps. They're fine tuning their games and adding to it.

2. Eye-popping atheleticism is very rarely what makes a top-teir player. It's skill. Look at Wade, Kobe, Jordan, Stockton, Magic, etc. The best players are *skilled* and can use their skills *effectively*.

Its usually a combination of both. Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Lebron and even Magic (wasn't slow, freakish size) had the perfect combination of skill and athletics.

Its quite obvious you don't have to be an other world athlete to have an impact on the game the same way. Bird, Stockton, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan are all time greats because of how tremendously skilled they were. Roy is not in this company. Its an insult on your own knowledge of the game to even assert that.

3. It's fairly... stupid to think that Lillard will never be better than his first 35 games in the NBA. I don't know how you even thought that was a good idea to say.

Please tell me where I say Lillard won't improve as a player? Because I'm not committed to call him the next Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, etc doesn't mean I'm ready to call it a day on his development. Lillard is a one of the games true young stars but I'm not prepared to run away with over optimism over how ready he's come into the league. Many made the same mistake with Blake Griffin.

[whatchaknow]

Please tell me where I say Lillard won't improve as a player? Because I'm not committed to call him the next Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, etc doesn't mean I'm ready to call it a day on his development. Lillard is a one of the games true young stars but I'm not prepared to run away with over optimism over how ready he's come into the league. Many made the same mistake with Blake Griffin.

Well Blake has developed his game into the best pf in the league discussion. So lets hope lillard has the same kind of developememt

[dolphinatik]

Roy was a special player. Potential to be great. Athletically I do think he was above average and better than most. But with no knees its tragic. He had the work ethic and determination to reach and sustain a high level of play.

On Lillard he is not as good nor will be near as good as what Roy could have been without the injuries but what he does have is that he is a smart player. He doesnt have to be a super athlete as long as he continues to play smart. For the record I dont think Nash or Kidd are great athletes and I think if surrounded with talent Lillard can be as good as those great pg's.

Portland is poised (and has been for some time) to eventually breakthrough as a perennial contender. Would anyone be surprised if they had a deep run?

[9abovetherim]

Austin Rivers looked good tonight. Confident, quick and decisive off of the dribble. He actually finished well at the rim.

[fart]

I think Waiters has had his best game of the season tonight. He has already shot 14 free throws, and has been attacking the rim every time he gets the ball. If he plays this way every night, he could probably average 8 FTA per game and that would be huge.

[witnessraps]

Mr. Davis: 20 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 75% from the field, although he struggled slightly at the line. Proud fantasy owner