Luke Kennard

[Kaboom3]

I have been telling you on here Kennard is an elite talent at the offensive end of the floor. I also believe his defense is not near as bad as some make it out to be. Is he a good defender? No, average at best but he plays with a motor and he is more than capable of making up for those problems on the offensive end. With that said, even as a huge fan of him, Luke is absolutely not ready to be a big time regular contributor that sees 20+ minutes a night unless he is on fire. The NBA is brutal on rookies and Luke needs some seasoning/experience to be a more consistent player night in and night out. I do feel however that yesterdays game clearly shows people that the kid has some talent and should never be in street clothes or in the G-league, and most certainly not lose minutes to Reggie Bullock....lol. Anyone out there starting to see that Kennard has some special skills? Just needs some consistent burn to become acclimated to what it takes to succeed in the NBA.

[Spider156]

All luke needs to do is work on his lateral movement and he'll be great in the nba. His shot and offense are all there. Lateral movement is all you need in the NBA (See bradley and KCP). Keep up with your man laterally and let the long shot cover itself. Luke is here to stay. We just got a Booker/Klay type of player. Don't believe me? check the college stats (all the same), metrics are similar. Klay is longer wingspan and his development was elite. This guy's defense will be good learning from the best (bradley)

[Kaboom3]

All luke needs to do is work on his lateral movement and he'll be great in the nba. His shot and offense are all there. Lateral movement is all you need in the NBA (See bradley and KCP). Keep up with your man laterally and let the long shot cover itself. Luke is here to stay. We just got a Booker/Klay type of player. Don't believe me? check the college stats (all the same), metrics are similar. Klay is longer wingspan and his development was elite. This guy's defense will be good learning from the best (bradley)

Agree on the lateral movement but even as one of Kennard's biggest fans I'm not sure he will ever be on the level of Klay and Booker. I think he can be a very good scorer with a long career in the league but it's a stretch to put him with those guys. The thing about Kennard that is so enjoyable to me is that he is such a crafty player, which he has to be with his skill set, and those type of players that have old school games are rare these days.

[Billl]

He needs work on more than just his defense. I think he's going to be a really good offensive player, but he's got to make faster decisions. That should come with experience, but it isn't going to happen overnight. He's a smart player and sees the floor well, but he's still adjusting to NBA speed.

[Manocad]

We got it the first time. Was another thread necessary?

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[tmorgan]

I knew this post was coming. I loved seeing Kennard bust out in the second half last night, and that will hopefully get him a couple more chances in our upcoming games, but he's going to need to earn his minutes, particularly once Stanley gets back.

The kid brings great touch and a crafty offensive game, certainly, but we have plenty of the crafty stuff from Reggie and Tobias and plenty of shooting (oddly enough) from those guys and Bradley. Luke is going to have to D up and wait for certain matchups (like the Heat, who typically can't shoot very well) until he's up to speed.

If you listened to SVG after the game, while talking about Luke, what he praised was his defensive effort. The shots are going to eventually fall, because he's a pure shooter, so that wasn't ever the concern. If he hustles and plays smart defensively, SVG will find him 15 minutes (or more, like yesterday). If he doesn't, he won't.

[ImHeisenberg]

All luke needs to do is work on his lateral movement and he'll be great in the nba. His shot and offense are all there. Lateral movement is all you need in the NBA (See bradley and KCP). Keep up with your man laterally and let the long shot cover itself. Luke is here to stay. We just got a Booker/Klay type of player. Don't believe me? check the college stats (all the same), metrics are similar. Klay is longer wingspan and his development was elite. This guy's defense will be good learning from the best (bradley)

We can hope he's of that scoring ilk.

Luke's footwork is already beyond Booker and Thompson's were. Then again, Kennard is also a 22 year old rookie, he should be more polished coming into the league.

Glad SVG is giving him minutes in the last few games. Now, I hope Luke can relax and not hesitate as much on offense. I want to see him shoot it every time he gets the ball, to be honest.

[El Chivo]

Glad SVG is giving him minutes in the last few games. Now, I hope Luke can relax and not hesitate as much on offense. I want to see him shoot it every time he gets the ball, to be honest.

he turns 22 in 2018.

I still see him as a Ginobili lite.

[Billl]

A young Ginobili used to dunk over people. He was a whole different level of athlete than luke.

The man can shoot the ball though. And it's a pretty shot too. If the team keeps running a higher motion offense, he's going to hit a lot of 3's for us over the next couple years.

[ImHeisenberg]

Glad SVG is giving him minutes in the last few games. Now, I hope Luke can relax and not hesitate as much on offense. I want to see him shoot it every time he gets the ball, to be honest.

he turns 22 in 2018.

I still see him as a Ginobili lite.

I guess I got bad information on his birth date. Thought it was 1995, not 1996.

Glad I was wrong!

I think Luke's been pretty forward that he's tried to model parts of his game like Manu. I've seen him try to sling some absolutely amazing passes that completely missed their mark because his teammate wasn't expecting them. That's usually a sign of a good passer, when he's thinking two steps ahead of his own teammates.

If SVG keeps giving him minutes, the chemistry will build, and the hands will eventually be there to receive the pass. I'm not saying Kennard has elite vision, but it's certainly impressive from a wing player.

I recall LeBron, as a rookie, throwing tons of amazing passes and his teammates completely whiffed on them. LeBron saw the play two steps ahead of the defense and his teammates and led to turnovers. Eventually, his teammates learned to look for those passes, and you saw his assist numbers begin to rise.

I think Luke's ceiling on offense is pretty impressive. He can shoot, he can pass, handle to ball and his footwork is just so damn impressive. You don't see guys moving around with the ball like he does on the perimeter. If he had a great first step, he could be a truly elite player.

[hoophabit]

I agree that the Ginobili comparisons aren't all that apt. It seems more a matter of style rather than substance. If combine testing can be trusted, and it's generally some of the best data, Kennard has a 38 inch vertical (which shocked a lot of people.) You'd have to conclude that he could easily dunk. Young man by nature wants to play an unselfish, crafty game. Seems like coach wants him to be more aggressive. He'll get acclimated to the pro game, and he seems to be making good progress.

[GreekAlex]

The best comparison I've heard is Chris Mullin.

I was pretty young in Chris Mullins prime but I reviewed some of his highlights and I must say there are many similarities.

[Billl]

" You'd have to conclude that he could easily dunk."

Yeah, I'm sure he can get over the rim. I'd be surprised if there are any NBA athletes that can't dunk in an empty gym. Prime Ginobili just shed defenders on the way to the rim and dunked over people. That's just a whole different level of athleticism.

Watch on YouTube

[sludgefoot]

The best comparison I've heard is Chris Mullin.

I was pretty young in Chris Mullins prime but I reviewed some of his highlights and I must say there are many similarities.

Chris was almost all left handed. Shot looks familiar. Luke seems to have better footwork. Luke has standing reach of 8'4" with 38" vertical....think dunking is not much of an issue.


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[DBC10]

" You'd have to conclude that he could easily dunk."

Yeah, I'm sure he can get over the rim. I'd be surprised if there are any NBA athletes that can't dunk in an empty gym. Prime Ginobili just shed defenders on the way to the rim and dunked over people. That's just a whole different level of athleticism.

Watch on YouTube

Yeah, prime Ginobili was tenacious and often times too crazy for his own good with his fearlessness. There's a reason why some old school Spurs fans say that they live and die with Ginobili at times.

Not to say he's a bad player at all, he's a future HOF player most likely and one of the best international players ever.

[hoophabit]

" You'd have to conclude that he could easily dunk."

Yeah, I'm sure he can get over the rim. I'd be surprised if there are any NBA athletes that can't dunk in an empty gym. Prime Ginobili just shed defenders on the way to the rim and dunked over people. That's just a whole different level of athleticism.

Watch on YouTube

Um, yes, not in dispute on my part. Ginobili is/was a more explosive athlete. I'm just saying Luke has hops to more than just get it over the rim, but he'd rather do some misdirection footwork/dribble thing to get his shot off, or make a play for a teammate. I'm old enough to remember Mullins and made the comparison around the time of the draft and SL. That said, Kelser is right about making that comparison very respectfully. Kennard will have to achieve some things before it's anything more than noting a similarity in style.

[MrBigShot]

He's not as dynamic as Booker and not nearly the shooter Klay is, but he definitely has potential. Stylistically the Mullin comparison seems pretty good honestly. Mullin didn't do much ball handling though if I recall. Ginobili was a really terrific slasher & finisher, whereas Kennard isn't.

One thing is for sure...under no circumstances should he be behind Bullock in the rotation. Luke's already proven he can contribute; SVG needs to give him consistent mins and let him play through mistakes.

[whitehops]

one thing i'd like to see luke do is since he's so good at getting defenders to bite for his pump fakes, is to try to draw the foul on the shot instead of stepping in for an open mid range shot. it's like a free three points. you can tell though that his whole mentality is to evade defenders, which he's definitely good at.

[GreekAlex]

one thing i'd like to see luke do is since he's so good at getting defenders to bite for his pump fakes, is to try to draw the foul on the shot instead of stepping in for an open mid range shot. it's like a free three points. you can tell though that his whole mentality is to evade defenders, which he's definitely good at.

I can't tell you how many times I've thought that.

They bite so hard he's got to be able to draw the foul.

Even with his other crafty moves he should be at the free throw line often.

[Jstock12]

What does anyone think of smaller Mike Dunleavy as a comparison?