3toheadmelo wrote:Chanel Bomber wrote:3toheadmelo wrote:Payton isn’t holding back RJ and I hate Payton the most. You’re basically saying RJ should ball hog more and continue to chuck up shots.
Payton is absolutely holding back RJ (and Mitch too). To some extent at least.
He's not what's preventing RJ from being a good player, as RJ's struggles as a young player are mostly on RJ, but he's definitely making life more difficult for RJ.
Payton is ball-dominant which limits RJ's opportunities to run pick-and-roll (his best attribute coming out of Duke), and when RJ does run plays the spacing is the worst in the entire NBA, which means less space for drives, more congested lanes and fewer kick-out options.
At the end of the day, their skill sets are repetitive. They both hurt the team with their inability to make jumpshots. They simply can't play together, so the Knicks need to make a choice.
If Randle can figure it out next to RJ and Payton then RJ should be able to as well. Good players always figure it out. RJ is getting a lot of great looks at the rim, mid range shots and wide open 3’s. He simply can’t make anything. It’s really on him bro. You know I hate Payton. I agree spacing would be better without him in the lineup, but we’d even seen plenty of occasions where RJ is out there with the bench unit and he’s still struggling like crazy.
I know you're not defending Payton, but I think you're underestimating the negative impact that he has on some of the players on the team.
Randle is more skilled and more efficient than Payton and RJ, he's getting his but how this line-up is set up with all 3 on the court is simply not conducive to winning. Credit to Randle for being productive. Just because RJ can't doesn't mean that Payton isn't hurting him (and vice versa but who is our priority).
I'm not saying that Payton is what's preventing RJ from hitting wide open jumpshots or missing bunnies at the rim. That's on him 100%. But RJ would be more efficient playing with a point guard who can shoot and who can play within the flow of an offense. I'm not saying he would be efficient, but he would be more efficient.
It's not limited to RJ. Mitch also suffers from having a point guard who's not a threat to shoot from 3 out the PNR. Payton highlights their limitations, and these limitations belong to them, but these limitations could be minimized with a professional point guard while they work on improving their game.