Robson ranks the rookie PGs
Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:54 pm
6. Jonny Flynn, Minnesota Timberwolves
Flynn, the No. 6 pick, has been a disappointment. The conventional wisdom is that he's been hamstrung by coach Kurt Rambis' triangle offense, but the numbers don't back it up. Among rookie point guards, only Evans and Jennings have attempted more shots per minute than Flynn (yes, the deadeye Curry shoots less often) and Flynn leads all rookies in turnovers per minute -- triangle or not, he's hardly disengaged from those half-court sets.
Part of the problem is that Flynn is accustomed to freelancing, mostly via a steady diet of high pick-and-rolls. He's lightning-quick and can get to the rim, but his outside shot hasn't been falling often enough (he's shooting 35.8 percent from three point range, and 42.2 percent overall) to make defenses pay for packing the paint against Al Jefferson, Kevin Love and Flynn's penetration. Factor in a defensive performance that has been horrible by almost any metric -- the Wolves yield 8.2 more points per 100 possessions when he is on the court -- and you have a player seemingly better suited to trying to supply instant offense and energy off the bench.
[Aaron] Brooks and the scout have a more charitable view.
"I like Jonny Flynn," Brooks said. "He reminds me a lot of myself as far as being what they call a 'shoot-first' point guard. But I look at it as him trying to be a leader and do what it takes to win."
Said the scout: "I agree that he is looking to score, but that roster doesn't have a lot of good shooters, so maybe they need that. My suspicion is that he doesn't see a lot of the court anyway, and that it is a weakness that he is a 'me-first' shooter. But you don't know until that team gets some help."
The whole article is here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... pgs/1.html
I like Robson a lot, but I tend to disagree with him here. As the scout says, Flynn's game would look a lot different with a legit perimeter shooter/scorer next to him. Put Flynn in the triangle next to Andre Iguodala, Kevin Martin, or even a healthy Mike Miller, and he'd look like a different player.
Flynn, the No. 6 pick, has been a disappointment. The conventional wisdom is that he's been hamstrung by coach Kurt Rambis' triangle offense, but the numbers don't back it up. Among rookie point guards, only Evans and Jennings have attempted more shots per minute than Flynn (yes, the deadeye Curry shoots less often) and Flynn leads all rookies in turnovers per minute -- triangle or not, he's hardly disengaged from those half-court sets.
Part of the problem is that Flynn is accustomed to freelancing, mostly via a steady diet of high pick-and-rolls. He's lightning-quick and can get to the rim, but his outside shot hasn't been falling often enough (he's shooting 35.8 percent from three point range, and 42.2 percent overall) to make defenses pay for packing the paint against Al Jefferson, Kevin Love and Flynn's penetration. Factor in a defensive performance that has been horrible by almost any metric -- the Wolves yield 8.2 more points per 100 possessions when he is on the court -- and you have a player seemingly better suited to trying to supply instant offense and energy off the bench.
[Aaron] Brooks and the scout have a more charitable view.
"I like Jonny Flynn," Brooks said. "He reminds me a lot of myself as far as being what they call a 'shoot-first' point guard. But I look at it as him trying to be a leader and do what it takes to win."
Said the scout: "I agree that he is looking to score, but that roster doesn't have a lot of good shooters, so maybe they need that. My suspicion is that he doesn't see a lot of the court anyway, and that it is a weakness that he is a 'me-first' shooter. But you don't know until that team gets some help."
The whole article is here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... pgs/1.html
I like Robson a lot, but I tend to disagree with him here. As the scout says, Flynn's game would look a lot different with a legit perimeter shooter/scorer next to him. Put Flynn in the triangle next to Andre Iguodala, Kevin Martin, or even a healthy Mike Miller, and he'd look like a different player.