Will Knight ever "get it"?

Han Solo · Post #1 » by **Han Solo** » Thu Nov 22, 2012 5:06 pm

I know his assists are up. I realize there is still time to get that FG% up.

But does this guy look lost or what? I want him to succeed just as bad as anyone, but he is dreadful this year.

His jumpshot appears to be garbage right now, he's always playing out of control. He's incapable of throwing a lob (and that's actually a big deal considering Drummond could realistically get 2-4 a game if he was starting).

Is Brandon Knight going to work as the Pistons starting PG going forward?

Han Solo · Post #2 » by **Han Solo** » Thu Nov 22, 2012 5:45 pm

Cant finish at the rim either.

OneBadMutha · Post #3 » by **OneBadMutha** » Thu Nov 22, 2012 5:46 pm

It's a tough transition. Chauncy looked like he was never going to get it when LB was trying to force him to change.

On the positive, he's improved as a point man and has had some decent moments running things this year. He's a hard worker who wants to play unselfish and wants to be a point guard. Thats a good start.

On the flip, Frank is no LB. Does he have the right teacher and complimentary pieces around him to help ease the transition? That's a better question.

Jodi · Post #4 » by **Jodi** » Thu Nov 22, 2012 5:57 pm

Knight will be OK...He's making better passes and taking good shots, the shots just aren't falling in right now...

Rekindled · Post #5 » by **Rekindled** » Thu Nov 22, 2012 6:07 pm

I believe so.

-20 years old
-Trying to learn the toughest position in the game
-Establishing his own identity as a point guard
-Struggling to find the balance between being a scorer and being a distributor (dude seems hell bent on that distributor role right now)

That's a lot for a young player. Now, you can mention all the comparisons to all-star players but it isn't quite fair to the player in the end.

Will he be an all-star one day? Maybe. That is, in the same way it took Dumars 5 or 6 years to reach his first all-star game.

Am I ecstatic with his progress so far? Not really.

But at some point we have to acknowledge that he's taken some small steps forward and most importantly, he still has time.

Goldtop · Post #6 » by **Goldtop** » Thu Nov 22, 2012 6:43 pm

Way too early to be asking if he will "ever" get it, like he's been in the league 5 yrs and he's still not getting it.

I don't ever worry about Knight. If he figures out it great, if not oh well. The way I see it, our goal the last 3 drafts was to rebuild the frontcourt with 2 top talent big men. We wanted to do it in 2010 and 2011, but it didn't work out and got Knight instead. But it worked out for the best, because we then got a big man in 2012 better than any big man in the 2011 draft. So I look it at like we got our 2 franchise bigs out the 3 yr tank. The 2 positions that are the hardest to acquire top talent at, that you have to get through the draft, as teams rarely never give them up once they get them. PG is an easy position to find talent at in FA/trades. So anything we get from Knight is a bonus. If he doesn't pan out, its not hard to refill that position. As long as we got the foundation up front in place , PG is not an issue for me.

Kilo · Post #7 » by **Kilo** » Thu Nov 22, 2012 9:47 pm

His problem is how he's trying to force being the team leader. He's a 20 yr old sophomore - you're not a leader just because you keep claiming you are one. If he dropped that and just played basketball he'd be better off in the short term. He could grow into the leadership role in a few seasons but it shouldn't be his focus now.

Though this team does have a leadership vacuum as Tay is quiet and passive, Stuckey has accomplished nothing, Moose is young himself and Maxey is just passing through the game. Don't get me started on CV...

Maybe bring in Derek Fisher for the rest of the year or something.

Scout Taron · Post #8 » by **Scout Taron** » Thu Nov 22, 2012 11:55 pm

Knight could average 0 ppg and 0 apg and people will still apologize for him

Dirtgrain · Post #9 » by **Dirtgrain** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:59 am

Scout Taron wrote:Knight could average 0 ppg and 0 apg and people will still apologize for him

And some people just want to be extremely negative all the time (as if that will accomplish anything). How is finding potential necessarily apologizing? Knight has had some impressive assist games--with more frequency than last year. That's improvement. Say something negative about that.

Post #10 » by **dVs33** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:45 am

Knight is a smart kid, hard working and naturally gifted. He's playing a very hard position on a team that's a mess right now. Patience is key with him.
He's shown improvement in some areas but needs to work on a lot more. It'll come with time.

kurtis48239 · Post #11 » by **kurtis48239** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 2:13 am

The problem is he isnt a natural pg in the sense it dosent come easy to him.What we need to do is move knight over to the sg position and pick up a wing and pg thru draft and sign/trade,I bet he would flourish.

mrknowitall215 · Post #12 » by **mrknowitall215** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 2:37 am

kurtis48239 wrote:The problem is he isnt a natural pg in the sense it dosent come easy to him.What we need to do is move knight over to the sg position and pick up a wing and pg thru draft and sign/trade,I bet he would flourish.

That worked well with Stuckey

davidvolumes · Post #13 » by **davidvolumes** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:19 am

mrknowitall215 wrote:
kurtis48239 wrote:The problem is he isnt a natural pg in the sense it dosent come easy to him.What we need to do is move knight over to the sg position and pick up a wing and pg thru draft and sign/trade,I bet he would flourish.

There r a few issues with Knight. None that cant be overcome with patience and BETTER COACHING. Frank is not putting him in situations to succeed. At this stage of his development just let him play pick and roll basketball. Keep it simple. Knight is a better player than Franks is a coach.

Goldtop · Post #14 » by **Goldtop** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:34 am

mrknowitall215 wrote:
kurtis48239 wrote:The problem is he isnt a natural pg in the sense it dosent come easy to him.What we need to do is move knight over to the sg position and pick up a wing and pg thru draft and sign/trade,I bet he would flourish.

That worked well with Stuckey

The difference is Knight is a great outside shooter, Stuckey was not. Knight could make the transisition to SG, if nec. He's not the best ball-handler for a SG, but neither was Rip. As long as Knight can run off screens and make open shots he could be a good SG.

ppl will say he's a bad overall shooter, but its hard evaluate his shooting when he's also burdened with the job of running the whole offense. If you just made his only job to catch and shoot, rebound and play defense, I think he could be really good. Plus, his career 3FG% is undeniably very good. Hes only about 6-3/6-4 in size, which is a bit undersized for SG, but he's also really long and a great leaper , so he shouldn't have a problem contesting jumpshots of taller SG's.

I still think in a real offense with a real coach he could be a great PG. This freelance offense just isn't conducive to a young PG still trying to learn. Freelance offenses are for veteran PG's like Nash and Kidd, not 20 yr olds yet to play a full season worth of games.

Scout Taron · Post #15 » by **Scout Taron** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 4:42 am

Dirtgrain wrote:
Scout Taron wrote:Knight could average 0 ppg and 0 apg and people will still apologize for him

And some people just want to be extremely negative all the time (as if that will accomplish anything). How is finding potential necessarily apologizing? Knight has had some impressive assist games--with more frequency than last year. That's improvement. Say something negative about that.

What does being positive on a message board accomplish exactly? It's not even about positivity and negativity. It's about perceiving whether a player is good or not.

He does have more assists. Except he still looks just as clueless running an offense, turns the ball over at an accelerated rate, and is even worse as a scorer.

Hilarious that I should have to dig for things to be optimistic about for a 2-9 team.

wire28 · Post #16 » by **wire28** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:26 am

He's 20 years old and his rookie season wasn't even a real 82 game season. He plays on a horrible team with terrible jump shooters. I'm not worried about Knight at all. Especially after looking at his work ethic going into the gym to get much stronger I have no doubt that same work ethic will be applied to his game.

DetroitPistons · Post #17 » by **DetroitPistons** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:53 am

I'm not going to worry about Knight until at least the end of NEXT year. He just needs to slow down and find that middle ground between scoring and passing. Right now I think he is passing to a fault and he needs to get his scoring game going, especially considering he is our best shooter. Once we get some more talent and balanced rotations his assists will come much easier so right now I really want him to stop passing up open 3's and start working his midranged game more. Also, working on subtle things like hesitations moves will help with his ability to finish around the rim.

Redeemed · Post #18 » by **Redeemed** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:31 pm

I think Knight will get it for many of the same reasons that have already been stated. He is an intelligent and driven kid with a great work ethic. BK7 has primarily known for his shooting ability and his scorer's mentality. Right now he seems to working through the nuances associated with being a facilitator.

I would like to see more from him defensively.

vege · Post #19 » by **vege** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:09 pm

wire28 wrote:He's 20 years old and his rookie season wasn't even a real 82 game season. He plays on a horrible team with terrible jump shooters. I'm not worried about Knight at all. Especially after looking at his work ethic going into the gym to get much stronger I have no doubt that same work ethic will be applied to his game.

You just described the Bobcats and Kemba Walker is destroying this season. I love how last season was bad only for Knight, Irving, Isiah Thomas and Kemba Walker are all from the same class as Knight and they all showed a lot more than Knight did so far.

Knight showed some flashes, He has a great work ethic but he is a really really really horrible PG right now and a bad player and is hurting our team badly since last season. I'd rather have a veteran starting and Knight learning from the bench, because it will take a while untill he "gets it" and he might never get it.

Fan from Dade · Post #20 » by **Fan from Dade** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:53 pm

vege wrote:
wire28 wrote:He's 20 years old and his rookie season wasn't even a real 82 game season. He plays on a horrible team with terrible jump shooters. I'm not worried about Knight at all. Especially after looking at his work ethic going into the gym to get much stronger I have no doubt that same work ethic will be applied to his game.

You just described the Bobcats and Kemba Walker is destroying this season. I love how last season was bad only for Knight, Irving, Isiah Thomas and Kemba Walker are all from the same class as Knight and they all showed a lot more than Knight did so far.

Knight showed some flashes, He has a great work ethic but he is a really really really horrible PG right now and a bad player and is hurting our team badly since last season. I'd rather have a veteran starting and Knight learning from the bench, because it will take a while untill he "gets it" and he might never get it.

Knight is struggling right now, mainly with his shooting. I think the main thing is that he has gotten away from his game. He is a uptempo scoring PG. He is so focused on becoming a pass first PG and getting his teammates involved that he isn't making the best decesions by overthinking. To be clear Knight is younger then everyone that you named above. Isiah Thomas is NOT having a better year then Knight even with his struggles; he is averaging 2 assist. Come on. Kemba has started the year hot and Knight hasn't. He is also 23 or 24 years old.

The Pistons are a terrible team right now. They have entirely too much talent to be losing this way. Knight is NOT the reason. With that being said, if he can just get back to playing and not thinking so much then he will be one of the reasons for a turnaround. He is still averages 11, 4. and 6. with less turnovers then many including Kyrie.

Now, let's look at the ridiculous coaching job and silly substitutions. Knight plays 10 minutes or so and sits for 15. It's tough to find your rhythym when your'e in and out of the game. NO excuses, he has to play better but 11 games into his second season and people are talking about EVER. You's think he was averaging 3 points and 1 assist. he is playing 30 mins a game. The team is betetr when he is out there. They have lost some close ones, etc...

Another thing, being that I haveseen Knightfor longer then most here; I'll offer a little insight. He started playing PG Less then 2 years ago at Kentucky! He is still learning the position. He averaged 30 a night in high school. He is best in the pick and roll and running right now. The Pistons are doing neither! So when he gets the chance, I think he is rushing and overthinking.

More comparisos:
Ty Lawson 12, 2, and 7
Darren Collinson 14, 2, and 6
Jeremy Lin 10, 4, and 6
Steve Blacke 5, 2, and 3
Mike Conley 14, 3, and 7
Mario Chalmers 7, 2, and 5
Jose Calderon 11, 2, and 8

So again STRUGGLING he is at 11, 4, and 6 with no shooters around him, less minutes then most of PG's since his coach substitutes from a clipboard, in a system that isn't fitting him right now, and taking less shots then nearly everyone on this list. And you are wondering if the 20 year old will "ever" get it. He is NOT playing like he should or showing what he is capable of AT ALL. We can all agree on that but really...