BrandHIM Miller: The Brandon Miller Thread

[JMAC3]

I don't see Paul George, but I really think Brandon Ingram is the top comp for him.

Looking back at Ingram's scouting report, his strengths and weaknesses were near identical to Miller's (lanky, slow footed but have length to make up for it, potential to be a significant ball handler, glimpses of play making, strong shooters, gotta add some weight, etc)

I love Ingram so I'd say at this point I'm about 70% Scoot and 30% Miller (was about 95%-5% on lottery night).

My biggest hang up on not absolutely loving him as a pick is his drop off aganist stronger teams gives me some pretty significant flags, and of course the gun incident.

I think it is important to remember Paul George was not Paul George early in his NBA career.
His rookie year he averaged 7.8 ppg
2nd year he averaged 12.1 ppg

Stylistically they play very similar. A ton of shots come from 3 (45% of PG shots), he plays kind of at his own speed, slow rhythm dribbles but it is so smooth it seems like he is moving a lot faster than he is. Miller is 2-3 years will probably have a very similar body to prime PG.

[KingCat]

I don't see Paul George, but I really think Brandon Ingram is the top comp for him.

Looking back at Ingram's scouting report, his strengths and weaknesses were near identical to Miller's (lanky, slow footed but have length to make up for it, potential to be a significant ball handler, glimpses of play making, strong shooters, gotta add some weight, etc)

I love Ingram so I'd say at this point I'm about 70% Scoot and 30% Miller (was about 95%-5% on lottery night).

My biggest hang up on not absolutely loving him as a pick is his drop off aganist stronger teams gives me some pretty significant flags, and of course the gun incident.

I think it is important to remember Paul George was not Paul George early in his NBA career.
His rookie year he averaged 7.8 ppg
2nd year he averaged 12.1 ppg

Stylistically they play very similar. A ton of shots come from 3 (45% of PG shots), he plays kind of at his own speed, slow rhythm dribbles but it is so smooth it seems like he is moving a lot faster than he is. Miller is 2-3 years will probably have a very similar body to prime PG.

My biggest hang up with the PG comparison is the athletic difference. I know Miller's athletic short comings are overstated, they are atleast average for someone of his stature. But prime PG was an absolute different animal in regards to first step and leaping.

I just don't see Miller becoming that level of athlete barring some miraculous worn put into his body.

I don't see comparing him more to Ingeam than to PG as a slight at all. I think Ingram is a incredibly high ceiling player with all NBA potential.

[JMAC3]

Watch on YouTube

;t=1s

Here is a breakdown of how versatile he is as a scorer. Not just a shooter.

first bucket: pin down/down screen. 3 pointer
2nd bucket: dribble handoff, 1 dribble. Bang another 3.
3rd bucket: just bad defense, wide open bang another 3.
4th bucket: dribble handoff, hesitation move, straightline left hand layup.
5th bucket: run him off weakside screen, defender tries to go under. bang another 3.
6th bucket: weapon in transition, too much space. bang another 3.
7th bucket: grab and go, quick high screen, good footwork for a lil fade middy
8th bucket: zone buster, quick swing and trigger, bang another 3.
9th bucket: catch and screen, quick drive. nice spin and just too big, easy lay.
10th score: iso, hezi stepback jk, im going to hole. going to line.
11th bucket: transition, too small. lay.
12th bucket: ghost screen, two defenders close but too quick of a release. green.

Watching him, it is easy for me to see how we can use him on offense as #1 option. He is really versatile both with ball or without ball.

[KingCat]

Watch on YouTube

;t=1s

Here is a breakdown of how versatile he is as a scorer. Not just a shooter.

first bucket: pin down/down screen. 3 pointer
2nd bucket: dribble handoff, 1 dribble. Bang another 3.
3rd bucket: just bad defense, wide open bang another 3.
4th bucket: dribble handoff, hesitation move, straightline left hand layup.
5th bucket: run him off weakside screen, defender tries to go under. bang another 3.
6th bucket: weapon in transition, too much space. bang another 3.
7th bucket: grab and go, quick high screen, good footwork for a lil fade middy
8th bucket: zone buster, quick swing and trigger, bang another 3.
9th bucket: catch and screen, quick drive. nice spin and just too big, easy lay.
10th score: iso, hezi stepback jk, im going to hole. going to line.
11th bucket: transition, too small. lay.
12th bucket: ghost screen, two defenders close but too quick of a release. green.

Watching him, it is easy for me to see how we can use him on offense as #1 option. He is really versatile both with ball or without ball.

I'd feel more comfortable about this claim if he did this more often vs high caliber teams rather than 14-19 teams with not a single legitimate NBA prospect on it

[luciano-davidwesley]

Watch on YouTube

;t=1s

Here is a breakdown of how versatile he is as a scorer. Not just a shooter.

first bucket: pin down/down screen. 3 pointer
2nd bucket: dribble handoff, 1 dribble. Bang another 3.
3rd bucket: just bad defense, wide open bang another 3.
4th bucket: dribble handoff, hesitation move, straightline left hand layup.
5th bucket: run him off weakside screen, defender tries to go under. bang another 3.
6th bucket: weapon in transition, too much space. bang another 3.
7th bucket: grab and go, quick high screen, good footwork for a lil fade middy
8th bucket: zone buster, quick swing and trigger, bang another 3.
9th bucket: catch and screen, quick drive. nice spin and just too big, easy lay.
10th score: iso, hezi stepback jk, im going to hole. going to line.
11th bucket: transition, too small. lay.
12th bucket: ghost screen, two defenders close but too quick of a release. green.

Watching him, it is easy for me to see how we can use him on offense as #1 option. He is really versatile both with ball or without ball.

Smooth as and a clear three-level scorer and elite rebounder for a wing.

On the 10th bucket Adam Miller #44 has to respect his shot and quick release so much he bites without Miller even really faking to shoot at all off the hesitation.

[wilson115]

I'd feel more comfortable about this claim if he did this more often vs high caliber teams rather than 14-19 teams with not a single legitimate NBA prospect on it

Lost by 40 while letting Bama score over 100. Guess that's what passes for "representative" of what he'll be up against in the NBA.

[Snidely FC]

"Brandon Miller isn't any good because his shooting percentages plummet against Top 50 teams." Okay

In the Celtics recent game 6 win over the Heat, Jayson Tatum scored 31 pts. Great night, right?

He was 8-22 on the night. 36% shooting.

He was 0-8 from 3. 0%

His shooting percentages from the floor that night *plummeted* against a top team.

But wait! He was 15/15 from the free throw line, and as the highest usage player on his team, led them to a win.

So the narrative from that night is he is a great player because he scored 31 pts and his team won, not that his shooting percentages plummeted, or that he succeeded almost solely by drawing free throws.

In game 7, Tatum rolled his ankle in the first minute and "was a shadow of himself." He shot 38% on the night including 25% from 3.

Jayson Tatum’s shooting percentages plummeted in the two most important games of the season.

But how can that be possible when we know his shooting percentages increased against Top 50 competition in college?

Jimmy Butler was 5/21 in Game 6. A 23% shooting percentage that tells you very little about the near miracle Jimmy performed at the end of that game. Looking at that box score how do you know Jimmy’s any good? I'm not talking about good at shooting percentages I'm talking about good at basketball.

Which brings us to the specious and irksome argument that Brandon Miller suffers shrinkage because his shooting percentages go down against Top 50 competition.

By the way, half the games Jayson Tatum played while at Duke were against teams that were not in the Top 50. Its the way college schedules work. Tatum averaged 17 pts and 7 rebs in college. His season shooting averages, even while suffering a lower shooting average against lower ranked teams, were 45/34/85 with a 50% efg.

Miller averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds per game on 43/38/86 w a 53% efg even taking in to account the statistical variance of "worse" games against "top" teams, yes including even a few stinkers. Maybe his 86% from the free throw line was the saving grace, like Tatum in game 6? Shrug. Whatever way you want to feather the stats to tickle your humerus, Brandon Miller brought a 120 offensive rating on 25% usage on a team that went 31-6 and was #4 in the country

That’s not shrinkage. Shrinkage is shying away from taking more than 2 three-pointers per game. Shrinkage is shutting down your season to protect your draft position.

[KingCat]

Strange comparison imo. The fear with Miller looking bad aganist stronger competition is that it may show he can't play well vs better athletes/defenders due to his short comings when it comes to creating separation vs higher level defenders.

We all ready know Tatum and Butler can ball vs the best and off nights happen...when you off nights consistently happen vs top quality teams, that may show a pattern, not a coincidence.

When you are able to beat up on bottom feeders but then struggle vs higher teams, thats a sign you might be a flat track bully. Flat track bullying in college is a pretty significant sign you are a bust. Hopefully you are right and he just happens to shoot poorly vs good teams most of the time.

[fatlever]

I've been hearing rumors that Miller has a much better mid-range game than he was ever allowed to show in college. Does anyone have footage of some of that? Do we think that would be a huge part of his game at the next level? If Gordon moves on like we expect him to after this season, we certainly are going to have a huge need for someone to operate in that mid-range, especially in the fourth quarter.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[wilson115]

Read he was hitting them in the EYBL. Just a short clip:

Read on Twitter

If anything I still think it's his defense that makes Mitch pick him over Scoot. I think he's already a better defender than anyone we start not named Mark.

Watch on YouTube

[Emhoward]

Man I love Miller. He's just what we need. I just really really love Scoot. I think he's the 2nd or 3rd best PG prospect of the last 10 or so years.

[Snidely FC]

I've been hearing rumors that Miller has a much better mid-range game than he was ever allowed to show in college. Does anyone have footage of some of that? Do we think that would be a huge part of his game at the next level? If Gordon moves on like we expect him to after this season, we certainly are going to have a huge need for someone to operate in that mid-range, especially in the fourth quarter.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

starting at 5:45 of this video, shows some mid range work in high school and AAU

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

[Bassman]

Love Miller’s current game AND his potential for star status. If both players have the work ethic, determination and leadership traits we need, I go for the guy with size and shooting prowess. Both players are good defensively, giving Miller an edge in consistency throughout games compared to Scoot. I do think Scoot has the potential for a slightly higher ceiling, BUT he also has a greater risk factor relative to his shooting struggles.

Right now I’m for Miller.

[KingCat]

I've been hearing rumors that Miller has a much better mid-range game than he was ever allowed to show in college. Does anyone have footage of some of that? Do we think that would be a huge part of his game at the next level? If Gordon moves on like we expect him to after this season, we certainly are going to have a huge need for someone to operate in that mid-range, especially in the fourth quarter.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

I heard he was more of a midrange maestro in highscool than a 3pt shooter; however I would take his highscool performances with a grain of salt considering he was a year older than everyone.

[fatlever]

Odds that blazer will aggressively pursue a move up to #2 to secure Miller?

I don't see how they can take Scoot with Lillard, Simon's, and Sharpe in fold. Unless they plan to trade Lillard and embrace a rebuild.

That would be best case scenario in my world, we trade back to #3 grab Scoot and another asset from Blazers.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[LofJ]

Odds that blazer will aggressively pursue a move up to #2 to secure Miller?

I don't see how they can take Scoot with Lillard, Simon's, and Sharpe in fold. Unless they plan to trade Lillard and embrace a rebuild.

That would be best case scenario in my world, we trade back to #3 grab Scoot and another asset from Blazers.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

If the Blazers plan to keep their pick Miller is probably their guy. If we want Scoot though we'd be taking a big risk drafting Miller. A team like the Rockets, Raptors, Magic, or even the Celtics could trade for Scoot instead and we'd be SOL. I don't think it's worth the risk of losing the player we want. Whoever we want we should just draft them at 2 and be done with it.

[MPM]

Odds that blazer will aggressively pursue a move up to #2 to secure Miller?

I don't see how they can take Scoot with Lillard, Simon's, and Sharpe in fold. Unless they plan to trade Lillard and embrace a rebuild.

That would be best case scenario in my world, we trade back to #3 grab Scoot and another asset from Blazers.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

If the Hornets really want Scoot (I'm still team Miller) and Blazers really want Miller, might be interesting to poker face the pick and pry Thybulle and 23 from them for Bouk and 27.

Fun fact - Thybulle shot 39% from three in nearly 4 attempts a game across 22 games post-trade in POR.

[SWedd523]

Odds that blazer will aggressively pursue a move up to #2 to secure Miller?

I don't see how they can take Scoot with Lillard, Simon's, and Sharpe in fold. Unless they plan to trade Lillard and embrace a rebuild.

That would be best case scenario in my world, we trade back to #3 grab Scoot and another asset from Blazers.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

That fan theory that Portland would trade Lillard to Boston for Jaylen Brown and pieces then draft Scoot makes a ton of sense for both teams IMO.

Also, I'm of the opinion that if the FO finds a guy they like, just draft him instead of being cute and making deals.

[vexco]

At this point I'm fine with either one(prefer Miller). I don't think we can make a bad choice.

[JMAC3]

Odds that blazer will aggressively pursue a move up to #2 to secure Miller?

I don't see how they can take Scoot with Lillard, Simon's, and Sharpe in fold. Unless they plan to trade Lillard and embrace a rebuild.

That would be best case scenario in my world, we trade back to #3 grab Scoot and another asset from Blazers.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

That fan theory that Portland would trade Lillard to Boston for Jaylen Brown and pieces then draft Scoot makes a ton of sense for both teams IMO.

Also, I'm of the opinion that if the FO finds a guy they like, just draft him instead of being cute and making deals.

Jaylen Brown at age 26 has to have more value than 32 year old Dame (turns 33 in a month).
Boston would be pretty foolish to make this deal because it puts a cap on their window for the next 2 years.
Then you are the Bucks, old guys around Giannis in his prime.

Portland taking Miller makes a ton of sense, I doubt they will be upset with Scoot but it makes things a lot more complicated for them.