Welcome Luke Kennard

[Blkbrd671]

Dude's literally got t-rex arms! Seriously, his wingspan is 5'6, I looked it up. In college, he kept getting the ball stolen because he dribbles so high on account of his short arms. There's even a highlight video of this floating around somewhere.

Let's compare KCP and Kennard's college numbers...

KCP- 2114 Minutes, 96 assists, 100 TO's
Kennard- 2275 Minutes, 146 assists, 87 TO's


One highlight of him getting his pocket picked a couple times doesn't really mean anything.

I'm also pretty sure it's 6'6 (though that still short for the NBA).

not to mention there's this guy called IT who's literally 5'6" , seems to get his shot off fine

[whitehops]

just want to pop this play in here:

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

https://gfycat.com/InfatuatedEarnestGrasshopper?speed=0.5

this play is so advanced it's a little ridiculous. he drives right, plants with his left foot to spin left and then pulls back mid-spin, remaining completely balanced the whole time. people are infatuated with athleticism in terms of explosiveness or speed/vert but body control and balance are as important if not more for basketball. those athletic qualities allowed a player like paul pierce to be a highly productive scorer into his mid-30's when it looked like he was stuck in mud athletically.

he also shows creativity in pulling back mid-spin, the far more common fake is completing the spin, pump faking and stepping through to do an up-and-under move.

[MotownMadness]

just want to pop this play in here:

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

https://gfycat.com/InfatuatedEarnestGrasshopper?speed=0.5

this play is so advanced it's a little ridiculous. he drives right, plants with his left foot to spin left and then pulls back mid-spin, remaining completely balanced the whole time. people are infatuated with athleticism in terms of explosiveness or speed/vert but body control and balance are as important if not more for basketball. those athletic qualities allowed a player like paul pierce to be a highly productive scorer into his mid-30's when it looked like he was stuck in mud athletically.

he also shows creativity in pulling back mid-spin, the far more common fake is completing the spin, pump faking and stepping through to do an up-and-under move.

You need to become a scout man. Your attention to detail is pretty damn good.

[Pharaoh]

just want to pop this play in here:

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

https://gfycat.com/InfatuatedEarnestGrasshopper?speed=0.5

this play is so advanced it's a little ridiculous. he drives right, plants with his left foot to spin left and then pulls back mid-spin, remaining completely balanced the whole time. people are infatuated with athleticism in terms of explosiveness or speed/vert but body control and balance are as important if not more for basketball. those athletic qualities allowed a player like paul pierce to be a highly productive scorer into his mid-30's when it looked like he was stuck in mud athletically.

he also shows creativity in pulling back mid-spin, the far more common fake is completing the spin, pump faking and stepping through to do an up-and-under move.

Love that you've continued to do this and hope you stick with it.

Kennard is polished offensively - there's lots of little things that casuals would miss, like what you've pointed out here.

He doesnt seem to get caught out at any point which is insane for a young dude

Its one reason why I'm not trashing the pick even though I was all for Mitchell leading into the Draft.

Sent from my SM-J110F using RealGM mobile app

[DBC10]

just want to pop this play in here:

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

https://gfycat.com/InfatuatedEarnestGrasshopper?speed=0.5

this play is so advanced it's a little ridiculous. he drives right, plants with his left foot to spin left and then pulls back mid-spin, remaining completely balanced the whole time. people are infatuated with athleticism in terms of explosiveness or speed/vert but body control and balance are as important if not more for basketball. those athletic qualities allowed a player like paul pierce to be a highly productive scorer into his mid-30's when it looked like he was stuck in mud athletically.

he also shows creativity in pulling back mid-spin, the far more common fake is completing the spin, pump faking and stepping through to do an up-and-under move.

Eh...doesn't it look like he lifted off of his pivot foot before the jumpshot? That little bit of hesitation was likely what gave him that separation which would be a bit of a either lacking some polish or vet move.

I think it could've easily went for a travel. It's a good move, but I don't think it's the best one I've seen from him.

[whitehops]

You need to become a scout man. Your attention to detail is pretty damn good.

thanks for the compliment, i don't want to take full credit though as it was in his draftexpress "strengths" video so it was pre-scouted. the gifs i post might be a little sporadic but when i see things i notice i like to share them.

Eh...doesn't it look like he lifted off of his pivot foot before the jumpshot? That little bit of hesitation was likely what gave him that separation which would be a bit of a either lacking some polish or vet move.

I think it could've easily went for a travel. It's a good move, but I don't think it's the best one I've seen from him.

he might've lifted that pivot foot a bit but that's something that will almost never get called. there's travels on a lot more basic pivots that don't get called.

while it might not be the best move he's done, it is just another example of his footwork, body control and creativity. to be versatile you need to have a lot of different ways to get your shot off and kennard has a bunch.

[Pharaoh]

That's the biggest thing with Luke:

He's never going to be the most athletic guy on the floor so he's developed a lot of ways to get seperation to get ghis shot off.

Yeah he'll have to adjust to longer and more athletic guys but I believe he'll get there, probably sooner than most originally thought

Sent from my SM-J110F using RealGM mobile app

[bballnmike]

just want to pop this play in here:

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

https://gfycat.com/InfatuatedEarnestGrasshopper?speed=0.5

this play is so advanced it's a little ridiculous. he drives right, plants with his left foot to spin left and then pulls back mid-spin, remaining completely balanced the whole time. people are infatuated with athleticism in terms of explosiveness or speed/vert but body control and balance are as important if not more for basketball. those athletic qualities allowed a player like paul pierce to be a highly productive scorer into his mid-30's when it looked like he was stuck in mud athletically.

he also shows creativity in pulling back mid-spin, the far more common fake is completing the spin, pump faking and stepping through to do an up-and-under move.

He did this multiple times in summer league, I was really impressed. He has that drive, pump fake, and spin, mid-range shot down. Seems like this could be a go-to move for him from the limited games I've seen, which would be really cool.

edit: found one (2:12 if the timestamp doesnt work)

Watch on YouTube

[Billl]

I don't think many people questioned his ability to put the ball in the basket. Shooters don't have to be great athletes. The questions come on the defensive end. He's going to be on the wrong end of a physical mismatch most nights. Is he willing to commit 100% to playing great position defense? He's going to have to mentally be a step ahead. That's what it is going to take for him to not be a liability there.

[hoophabit]

Kennard $ucks! If you can't tie your shoes without bending over you have no future in the league.

[MotownMadness]

Kennard $ucks! If you can't tie your shoes without bending over you have no future in the league.

The shoe thing had me laughing

[El Chivo]

I don't think many people questioned his ability to put the ball in the basket. Shooters don't have to be great athletes. The questions come on the defensive end. He's going to be on the wrong end of a physical mismatch most nights. Is he willing to commit 100% to playing great position defense? He's going to have to mentally be a step ahead. That's what it is going to take for him to not be a liability there.

Hopefully he will use his basketball iq on defense and you can hide him with Bradley and Johnson, or Galloway in the lineup involving him.

[tmorgan]

That's definitely a travel for a NBA rookie, though. Dudes get no calls.

Still love Kennard, though.

[DBC10]

You need to become a scout man. Your attention to detail is pretty damn good.

thanks for the compliment, i don't want to take full credit though as it was in his draftexpress "strengths" video so it was pre-scouted. the gifs i post might be a little sporadic but when i see things i notice i like to share them.

Eh...doesn't it look like he lifted off of his pivot foot before the jumpshot? That little bit of hesitation was likely what gave him that separation which would be a bit of a either lacking some polish or vet move.

I think it could've easily went for a travel. It's a good move, but I don't think it's the best one I've seen from him.

he might've lifted that pivot foot a bit but that's something that will almost never get called. there's travels on a lot more basic pivots that don't get called.

while it might not be the best move he's done, it is just another example of his footwork, body control and creativity. to be versatile you need to have a lot of different ways to get your shot off and kennard has a bunch.

Agreed. The NBA is notorious for not calling travels. But the game moves too fast sometimes and there's a lot of leeway to what actually constitutes a walk nowadays. If Luke in that clip didn't take that shot, I think he would've been called for a travel. Refs for whatever reason hardly ever call a travel if you step off your pivot but go for a jump shot/shot immediately.

[Kilo]

On an aside, I hope none of you ordered Kennard #23 jerseys, as it looks like he grabbed #5 when KCP was renounced.

[hoophabit]

On an aside, I hope none of you ordered Kennard #23 jerseys, as it looks like he grabbed #5 when KCP was renounced.

Aw, that sucks man! I think there's a bunch around here that would like to retire KCP's number.

[whitehops]

On an aside, I hope none of you ordered Kennard #23 jerseys, as it looks like he grabbed #5 when KCP was renounced.

no word of a lie i was seriously contemplating ordering a kennard #23 jersey after he was drafted. i decided that i would wait for the season to start THANK GOD.


although if he makes the HOF it could be like a super rare kennard #23 rookie jersey that us priceless. kinda wish i did order it now that i think about it.

[tmorgan]

I'm high as hell on the kid, whitehops, but I think you're pretty safe there.

[In SVG We Trust]

Kennard's footwork and post game are pretty impressive,specially for a rookie. I think SVG is drafting these last years guys who maybe could have something special which separates them from other players. Even with Stanley, I think his character and mindset were very valuable to SVG's eyes.

I'm really really sure Stanley would have progressed last year if his mom was still alive. We become disgusting when we ignore even if they're making millions for play a game, they're humans too.

[ImHeisenberg]

I just read Kennard led all lottery picks in summer league in FG% and 3PT%. Yet, he receives zero attention because he didn't dunk all over D-league competition.