The OFFICIAL Rookie impressions thread

Dr Positivity · Post #101 » by **Dr Positivity** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:22 am

Leolovinliberal wrote:How did the Drummond vs Valenciunus matchup turn out?

Drummond's athleticism was in full display with a bunch of lobs, decent rebounding, and just a lot of energy

Valanciunas blocked Monroe playing man to man defense 3 times. Was invisible outside of those plays

Chalk1 · Post #102 » by **Chalk1** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:25 am

Lillard- 14 pts, 7 asts, 5 rebs, in 24 mins.

Leonard- 10 pts, 5 rebs, 4-4 FGs in 18 mins.

Left Side Drive · Post #103 » by **Left Side Drive** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:31 am

Dr Positivity wrote:
Leolovinliberal wrote:How did the Drummond vs Valenciunus matchup turn out?

Drummond's athleticism was in full display with a bunch of lobs, decent rebounding, and just a lot of energy

Valanciunas blocked Monroe playing man to man defense 3 times. Was invisible outside of those plays

Valanciunas looks to be an instant improvement for Raps defensively and should have had more chances offensively but his only bucket shows he has a nice touch around the rim. Drummond looks to be somewhat similar to DeAndre Jordan but hopefully he can be a better offensive player.

FlipTSO · Post #104 » by **FlipTSO** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:35 am

Drummond's highlights from tonight. He's gonna be a beast.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEPXtvmEsfQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUCfut4uGHo[/youtube]

ManualRam · Post #105 » by **ManualRam** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:13 am

SWedd523 wrote:I watched every college game Barnes played in (and a few from HS) and I can tell you nobody should be surprised at his low/mid post game.

Barnes spent a lot of time in the post as a High Schooler which led to an underdeveloped perimeter ISO game... and disappointment when he went to UNC. He never really had the opportunity to play in the post in college because Zeller and Henson operated down low, but you could tell he was more comfortable and efficient when he didn't need to break his man down off the dribble.

yeah, people don't realize that this kid was a PF in HS up until his junior year. he does have good footwork and his greatest asset physically is his strength. he should look to utilize the post as opposed to trying to go to work 3 pt line extended. one thing that he'll need to develop if he chooses to work out of the post more is a counter over his right shoulder. the overwhelming majority of the time he's looking for a way to get to his right. i'm sure the scouting report will read that.

ManualRam · Post #106 » by **ManualRam** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:15 am

GhostX wrote:Valancuinas needs to play with Jose more because there were plenty of times when he would make nice rolls to the basket and shoot 1st guys like Lucas wouldnt get it to him. Atleast Calderon understands pick n roll a lil better

lucas is awful at the PnR. the PnR to him is just a ball screen to free him up for a jumper.

He Filled it Up · Post #107 » by **He Filled it Up** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:16 am

Left Side Drive wrote:Valanciunas looks to be an instant improvement for Raps defensively and should have had more chances offensively but his only bucket shows he has a nice touch around the rim. Drummond looks to be somewhat similar to DeAndre Jordan but hopefully he can be a better offensive player.

We shouldn't take much from a single preseason game, but at least for today Drummond looked far more impressive than Valanciunas.

Blkbrd671 · Post #108 » by **Blkbrd671** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:16 am

GhostX wrote:Valancuinas needs to play with Jose more because there were plenty of times when he would make nice rolls to the basket and shoot 1st guys like Lucas wouldnt get it to him. Atleast Calderon understands pick n roll a lil better

saw this too, but too be fair, the pistons were cutting off the angles pretty nicely on JC. Lucas just wasn't even looking.

Blkbrd671 · Post #109 » by **Blkbrd671** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:17 am

Hero wrote:Drummond looked pretty good. Seems like a real steal for the Pistons.

Knight,monroe,Drummond, all steals.

Blkbrd671 · Post #110 » by **Blkbrd671** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:19 am

Dr Positivity wrote:
Leolovinliberal wrote:How did the Drummond vs Valenciunus matchup turn out?

Drummond's athleticism was in full display with a bunch of lobs, decent rebounding, and just a lot of energy

Valanciunas blocked Monroe playing man to man defense 3 times. Was invisible outside of those plays

Monroe played horrible offensively, while i credit Val for the blocks, he failed to keep Moose off the glass.

Chalk1 · Post #111 » by **Chalk1** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:36 am

Leonard alley oop

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v31TOzHyqw[/youtube]

Post #112 » by **The Sebastian Express** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:41 am

That is Ronnie Price, just fyi.

Cro_Ruption · Post #113 » by **Cro_Ruption** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 6:49 am

that is ronnie price lol, someone should upload that nifty pass by lillard to hickson

ChildishGambino · Post #114 » by **ChildishGambino** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 7:09 am

Chalk1 wrote:Lillard to Leonard- The L&L Show begins

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v31TOzHyqw[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ_R-G_i4Xk&feature=related[/youtube]

Post #115 » by **UGA Hayes** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 11:47 am

Val had the issues that I thought he was going to have. HE just looks like a classic P&R big with only one P&R guard in Jose. Definitely improved the Raps defense at least in the Detroit game.

Drummond looked better than I thought he would. Its good news that he seems able to make an impact without the ball, since I'm not convinced he is going to be very good offensively in iso situations.

ChildishGambino · Post #116 » by **ChildishGambino** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 1:15 pm

Honestly i feel Drummond could be anywhere between a DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard....Maybe he'll be closer to Dwight as he gets better...

Baester · Post #117 » by **Baester** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 1:47 pm

Thought Drummond looked good for all the claims of being so raw. His attempted fadeaway was terrible, but being constantly active, he'll find himself in the right place a lot. I do think people will start guarding him for the lobs and play off him unless he's right under the basket like they do Jordan, which will open him up if he rolls to the basket when his guard helps on drives.

I also thought Jonas V. looked good. His blocks on Monroe were impressive and his pick n roll coverage was actually good for a first-year centre. He was open a bunch of times but looked off by DeRozan and Lucas, which should change once the offensive has time to gel. He's going to have an impact on that team, especially playing next to Bargnani.

RoyalWun · Post #118 » by **RoyalWun** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 2:04 pm

Damian Lillard - 14 pts, 7 asts, 5 rbs, 6-11 shooting (2-5 from 3) in 24 minutes

- I admit I was one of the doubters, but this kid is going to be something special. People are comparing him to Westbrook because of the way he drives to the rim but I see his game somewhat similar to Deron Williams because I see him more of a PG than Westbrook.

Meyers Leonard - 10 pts, 5 rbs 4-4 shooting in 18 minutes

- He just needs to stop fouling. My only real complaint with him.

Post #119 » by **Duffman100** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:12 pm

The one thing Jonas was doing really well rolling hard to the rim which sucked in a lot of defenders.

MikeM · Post #120 » by **MikeM** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:24 pm

Valanciunas will not look good unless you appreciate the fundamentals of basketball. He is all fundamentals. I can't even remember a time where he's caught an entry pass and brought the ball down.

An example: On DeRozan's thunderous dunk it was Val who initially blocked a shot and sprinted full court to get into the post. He took the defender with him and parted the sea. It's not really super special but it's something certainly the Raptors have lacked at the C position for, well, eternity.