Cassius Winston Thread

[DCZards]

Cassius seals win for G-League team

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[nate33]

Weird. I could have sworn I saw Winston with a 6-4 wingspan. But even at 6-6, it's shorter than half the names on the list.

I watched Lonzo give Beal more trouble than just about anyone else in the league.

There's no sense arguing about it. We'll get a chance to see sooner or later. Your stance is that he should play in the NBA right now and that he's probably good. My stance is that he shouldn't and he isn't. Time will tell.

[DCZards]

If the worst thing that can be said about Winston at this point is that he MAY not be quick enough to stay in front of NBA PGs then there’s a chance he can be a good NBA player. Because he seems to have the shooting, playmaking, IQ, leadership and college pedigree that you want in an NBA PG.

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[wall_glizzy]

If someone asked me to list the 10 best defensive point guards, I would probably say:

Beverley, Paul, Graham, Schroder, Hill, Smart, Conley, Holiday, Morris, and Murray.

None of those guys are all that physically gifted besides maybe Holiday. Most of them are small below the rim players. I’m not sure about Winston’s upside defensively, his lateral quickness isn’t all that great, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up becoming a plus on defense. He’s such a smart player and competitor. All of those 10 players have great effort level and basketball IQ. A lot of PG defense is just about effort and IQ and willingness to fight through screens and harass ball handlers. That’s why someone like Dennis Schroeder is a significantly better defender than. John Wall/Russell Westbrook/Damian Lillard/Kyrie Irving.

It would be huge to come up with a starting caliber PG from the 53rd overall pick.

Murray does not belong on that list, nor does Graham. And Lowry and Lonzo Ball should be on there.

In this league, you have to factor switchability, so size matters a lot. Neto, for example, is excellent at staying in front of people and he fights like hell when he gets stuck in a switch, but it doesn't matter much if the guy can just turn and shoot over him.

All those guys are quicker than Winston. And they all have much larger wingspans.

Just for clarity, he's talking about Dejounte Murray, not Jamal. I think he's a fair inclusion for sure.

[nate33]

If someone asked me to list the 10 best defensive point guards, I would probably say:

Beverley, Paul, Graham, Schroder, Hill, Smart, Conley, Holiday, Morris, and Murray.

None of those guys are all that physically gifted besides maybe Holiday. Most of them are small below the rim players. I’m not sure about Winston’s upside defensively, his lateral quickness isn’t all that great, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up becoming a plus on defense. He’s such a smart player and competitor. All of those 10 players have great effort level and basketball IQ. A lot of PG defense is just about effort and IQ and willingness to fight through screens and harass ball handlers. That’s why someone like Dennis Schroeder is a significantly better defender than. John Wall/Russell Westbrook/Damian Lillard/Kyrie Irving.

It would be huge to come up with a starting caliber PG from the 53rd overall pick.

Murray does not belong on that list, nor does Graham. And Lowry and Lonzo Ball should be on there.

In this league, you have to factor switchability, so size matters a lot. Neto, for example, is excellent at staying in front of people and he fights like hell when he gets stuck in a switch, but it doesn't matter much if the guy can just turn and shoot over him.

All those guys are quicker than Winston. And they all have much larger wingspans.

Just for clarity, he's talking about Dejounte Murray, not Jamal. I think he's a fair inclusion for sure.

My bad. I was thinking Jamal. Yes, Dejounte is good. So is Derrick White, who should also be mentioned.

[nate33]

This is from The Athletic:

There are reasons, though, that Winston wasn’t taken higher than the 53rd pick in the draft after an All-America career. How he translates defensively is a significant concern. Izzo essentially tried to hide Winston on that end of the court, as much as possible. He’s crafty on offense, but not particularly quick on defense. He’s not a great athlete. He’s listed at 6-foot-1, but can’t dunk. He has struggled at times with knee tendinitis and had to receive platelet-rich plasma therapy.

As I said before, if Izzo is trying to hide Winston defensively in college, he is doomed in the NBA.

[NatP4]

They have the condensed games for Erie on YouTube if you really wanna punish yourself. They are about 15 minutes long. Winston is hardly ever getting attacked or scored on at all, maybe once or twice per game.

When he does get scored on, its usually a case of poor lateral quickness on the perimeter, with a quick blow by.

[NatP4]

17 points 7 assists 2 steals on 13 shots today.

[doclinkin]

Bumping this because he looked pretty alright in the Nets game.

[DCZards]

Would love to see Cassius get more PT with the Zards. I think his strengths (3pt shooting, ball handling, passing, leadership, savvy) will outweigh his weaknesses (defense, athleticism, size, quickness).

[payitforward]

Me too!! Free Cassius Winston! He's a player.

[NatP4]

28 points 10 assists 4 rebounds 2.7 steals on 68.8% TS in his time in the g-league this year.

Maybe play the guy in the NBA? I still think he’s a quality starting PG if you give him a chance

[FAH1223]

28 points 10 assists 4 rebounds 2.7 steals on 68.8% TS in his time in the g-league this year.

Maybe play the guy in the NBA? I still think he’s a quality starting PG if you give him a chance

That's on a per 36 minute basis...I was at first wondering what the hell

[NatP4]

28 points 10 assists 4 rebounds 2.7 steals on 68.8% TS in his time in the g-league this year.

Maybe play the guy in the NBA? I still think he’s a quality starting PG if you give him a chance

That's on a per 36 minute basis...I was at first wondering what the hell

Yeah, on only 14.6 minutes per game and 12 total games. I’m pretty confused at what they are even doing with Winston. Why hasn’t he played more basketball this year?

Seems like they picked him to be a good bench cheerleader as opposed to a real prospect.

[FAH1223]

28 points 10 assists 4 rebounds 2.7 steals on 68.8% TS in his time in the g-league this year.

Maybe play the guy in the NBA? I still think he’s a quality starting PG if you give him a chance

That's on a per 36 minute basis...I was at first wondering what the hell

Yeah, on only 14.6 minutes per game and 12 total games. I’m pretty confused at what they are even doing with Winston. Why hasn’t he played more basketball this year?

Seems like they picked him to be a good bench cheerleader as opposed to a real prospect.

Wasn’t he injured?

[payitforward]

Look... no one knows whether Winston can be successful in the NBA. But, he is absolutely killing it in the G League.

He's shooting 40% on 3pas & 60% on 2pas, while getting to the line 5.6 times per 40 minutes & shooting .941 on FTAs.

His TS% is .662 -- a guard! & that's on 27% usage -- over 28 points per 40 minutes! He's also recording almost 11.5 assists per 40 minutes.

For clarity, that's playing in the G League at the level Lamelo Ball or Trae Young is playing in the NBA.

No one is saying he'll do that in the NBA, or even that he'd be a starter. But, I have no trouble saying that his play for the GoGos warrants him getting a few hundred NBA minutes over the remaining games of this season. Especially given who we have at PG.

To put it another way: if we can't experiment over the next 6-7 weeks, when can we experiment?

[DCZards]

…and if defense is Winston’s biggest weakness, as has been suggested, it’s not like the Zards are a defensive juggernaut at PG now with Neto and Ish.

Free Cassius!

[9 and 20]

They don't want Winston to derail the tank, obviously.

For real though, I'm convinced. Give him a shot.