MrSparkle wrote:I will say, I never doubted that MPJ could be a good player , if healthy. Very key words-if healthy.
I don’t know what makes people think that an athletic 6’10 wing with handles and pull-up 3P skills could possibly be a terrible NBA player. 6’6, sure, you have a lot of your Romeo Langfords... but at 6’10? Like, why? What could possibly go wrong in their translation to this NBA? Ingram had raw skills, and still has a pretty awkward handle and pull-up shot, but he’s still a very good player since his clip improved. MPJ looked pretty smooth in his clips, but everyone was bashing his competition and low college sample size. At a certain point though, skills + size + athleticism don’t lie.
AFAIC injuries were and will be MPJ’s only draw-back. As expected, that does affect defense and effort, so it’s something to entirely consider. But why are we surprised he’s able to score 30 pts, since he’s healthy currently?
I remember having many arguments with the people who said he was "stiff", didn't have much of a handle, didn't have any offensive moves, was not very athletic, didn't see anything impressive in his high school tapes, etc, etc. Or those who said "it's just high school". These people know who they are. Of course it's still early, but he's looking like a bona fide star right now.