Devin Harris question

[Dexmor]

I know Harris's first year he was basically Iverson.

Did you see anything last year or think he can be a real playmaker good passer pass first pg?

Avery wants to run which I think is smart espially with all the young athletes but is Devin Harris a willing enough passer or is he just to much of a shoot first pg?

Thoughts?

Cause if he isn't really all we need is to somehow turn bulk sg;s into a really good one and a decent pf and get rid of Kris and were ready.

[Preludepunk27]

This is what I kind of laugh at though. The thought that some people (not saying you, just some people's take on Devin in general) believe Devin is a shoot first PG. On this team last year...he basically had to be, but during his career, that never really was him. Was he a pure pass-first PG? No but he has the vision and athletic ability to do that. The problem is two-fold though, you have to have comparable players around you to be effective. I loved our team last year, but we didn't have that. This year I think we added more players that will help him. We also have a coach who will implant a system and mindset in the team that will make Devin more effective as well.

One thing I always liked about Devin too is that he can be effective without the ball in his hands. We saw it when he played with Vince. While I don't mean he can play the 2 guard like Hinrich has been doing the last few years, I mean just being able to find a hole in the defense to get the ball in the lane or on the baseline where he'd either get an easy layup or get fouled. Remember 2 years ago I am fairly certain he was top 5-6 in the league at getting to the foul line and a lot of those times it wasn't just him taking a guy off the dribble. Problem is he will NEVER be able to play SG full time if we brought in another PG and didn't move him.

I'm open to moving him, but Devin is a very solid PG in this league if he could stay healthy. What we need to focus on is putting people around him that can score so he doesn't have to. He can focus on stingy defense which he's great at and on offense getting the scorers the ball where and when they need it. If we added a guy like Melo and Brook continued developing, Morrow doesn't lose his shot and Favors becomes anything close to what we hope, people will think Devin is like the 5th best PG in the league. He just needs to manage the game properly because when he does that, he is great. The point is I would love to have a guy like CP3, but Devin is still a kind of player we need.

The thing (and the major knock I have on Devin) that we actually NEED....is a leader. A leader doesn't have to be a PG obviously. Devin has shown he isn't that kind of guy. He can be a #2 motivator, but we need someone else that WANTS to take responsibility for this team and make sure everyone is playing up to their standards.

[jerseyjac]

This is what I kind of laugh at though. The thought that some people (not saying you, just some people's take on Devin in general) believe Devin is a shoot first PG. On this team last year...he basically had to be, but during his career, that never really was him. Was he a pure pass-first PG? No but he has the vision and athletic ability to do that. The problem is two-fold though, you have to have comparable players around you to be effective. I loved our team last year, but we didn't have that. This year I think we added more players that will help him. We also have a coach who will implant a system and mindset in the team that will make Devin more effective as well.

One thing I always liked about Devin too is that he can be effective without the ball in his hands. We saw it when he played with Vince. While I don't mean he can play the 2 guard like Hinrich has been doing the last few years, I mean just being able to find a hole in the defense to get the ball in the lane or on the baseline where he'd either get an easy layup or get fouled. Remember 2 years ago I am fairly certain he was top 5-6 in the league at getting to the foul line and a lot of those times it wasn't just him taking a guy off the dribble. Problem is he will NEVER be able to play SG full time if we brought in another PG and didn't move him.

I'm open to moving him, but Devin is a very solid PG in this league if he could stay healthy. What we need to focus on is putting people around him that can score so he doesn't have to. He can focus on stingy defense which he's great at and on offense getting the scorers the ball where and when they need it. If we added a guy like Melo and Brook continued developing, Morrow doesn't lose his shot and Favors becomes anything close to what we hope, people will think Devin is like the 5th best PG in the league. He just needs to manage the game properly because when he does that, he is great. The point is I would love to have a guy like CP3, but Devin is still a kind of player we need.

The thing (and the major knock I have on Devin) that we actually NEED....is a leader. A leader doesn't have to be a PG obviously. Devin has shown he isn't that kind of guy. He can be a #2 motivator, but we need someone else that WANTS to take responsibility for this team and make sure everyone is playing up to their standards.

+1

[jerseyjac]

I know Harris's first year he was basically Iverson.

Did you see anything last year or think he can be a real playmaker good passer pass first pg?

Avery wants to run which I think is smart espially with all the young athletes but is Devin Harris a willing enough passer or is he just to much of a shoot first pg?

Thoughts?

Cause if he isn't really all we need is to somehow turn bulk sg;s into a really good one and a decent pf and get rid of Kris and were ready.

He has the ability to make plays, he has his whole career penetrating the lane and on drives and kicks...pick and rolls with Lopez became even more dangerous last year (we need to keep one on Brook at all times, we sometimes miss opportunities down low to feed brook the ball)...again the issue with Devin is doing too much, expecially the pull up threes...he has an elbow pull back move that probably was more off than on last year, but we saw during his allstar year him nail that move with consistency...

For me, Devin was lucky if he was 100% healthy by the end of last season...he was pretty banged up last year and it had a lot to do with him relying on the jumper...Devin is smarter than that, he is better than that....

I hope we see Devin move the ball around the perimeter more while taking advantage of attacking the basket utilizing drive and kicks...I always said if we can get 20pts & 7 asts whith maybe 2-3 TOs and at least 3-4rebs (when he rebounds and pushes the ball we're definitely in a favorable position on offense...), our off. production should be strong...when he is passive, we suck no matter what aspect of the game...

Stay aggressive and push the ball, Devin we'll be fine...I'm more concerned/curious about our halfcourt sets...Brook needs to be featured on ALL halfcourt sets...he should touch the ball first and at least once on every halfcourt set...

[Dexmor]

So then all we need to do is 86 kris and take one of our 2's and get a decent Landry type 4 and were good to go?

[Preludepunk27]

I'd rather bring in an OK vet that can still start but help Favors and understand his role will go down in future seasons.

But I'm saying, to display Devin's talents fully, we need a true #1 scorer who is also a leader.

[Dexmor]

I personally think Derrick Favors is 10x more ready the everybody thinks. I fully think he is ready to start this year IF and ONLY IF harris becomes a playmaker and they do the running game.
Game 5 all it took was Avery to say play like you did in h.s. and he got 23 and 11 and showed everything.
Every rookie says they have to adjust to the speed and athletism. Favors said im really fast and athletic so the game wasn't to fast I just need to get stronger. His work ethic is so good after he lifted 180 pounds only 14x he started doing heavy workouts to get bigger and in 2 weeks was lifting 225 20x.
On the running game Avery wants to go with he will get 14 and 10 in his rookie season and be a roy candidate.

I think they need to get a better 2 and a backup 4 even if they lose Kris just a better backup 4.

[Preludepunk27]

^^^^ Remember he did that against young nba caliber players and fringe nba players and d-leaguers. Though it was promising, you can't put too much stock into that one game. He'll face MUCH better competition in the league. Playing him from the get go a lot can do one of two things:

1. give him confidence to want to fight through the rookie wall and continue to improve
2. turn you into Kwame Brown whose head was messed up for a long time

To avoid #2 from ever happening, that is the reason why I'd like to find an ok, cheap starter caliber PF who would be willing to work with Derrick as well as acknowledge the kid will eventually start taking a bigger role.

I do come from the school of thought that you need to take the leash off the kids, but only when they're ready or they could get hurt. I'd rather see some consistancy before I open him up to starting at the 4.

[jerseyjac]

^^^^ Remember he did that against young nba caliber players and fringe nba players and d-leaguers. Though it was promising, you can't put too much stock into that one game. He'll face MUCH better competition in the league. Playing him from the get go a lot can do one of two things:

1. give him confidence to want to fight through the rookie wall and continue to improve
2. turn you into Kwame Brown whose head was messed up for a long time

To avoid #2 from ever happening, that is the reason why I'd like to find an ok, cheap starter caliber PF who would be willing to work with Derrick as well as acknowledge the kid will eventually start taking a bigger role.

I do come from the school of thought that you need to take the leash off the kids, but only when they're ready or they could get hurt. I'd rather see some consistancy before I open him up to starting at the 4.

There is definiteyly truth to what your saying...I actually agree with the logic of bringing him around slowly, get a start here or there, but we need to him play some serious minutes to figure out what we really have...

Earlier I was saying sink or swim, but we'll see...

[Dexmor]

Kwame was a scrub from high school. Alot of college freshmen come in and play

[jerseyjac]

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