DarkKnight wrote:Can someone explain to me why there is still love for Quincy Miller right now? He just seems to have so many bad/terrible games and float for long stretches. Add in a surgically repaired ACL and some maturity questions and I just don't see him as a top prospect especially for this team. What are others seeing that I'm missing?
Out of all the top lotto wing prospects from this year's draft, I want a player that can potentially fill at least some of these glaring needs that the Raptors are sorely lacking from the wing; shoot the three-ball with consistency (Q. Miller shooting 41.7% on 2.2 3PtA), a playmaker that can create easy baskets for his teammates, the ability to create something out of nothing with the ball in his hands when the shot-clock is winding down, can create his own offense off the dribble, and a go-to-scorer during the clutch. But the biggest need of all, is a wing that is ball-dominant because looking at the current make-up of the Raptors, the team consists of players like DeMar and Ed that excel when they're playing off of a dynamic player which I think Quincy Miller is with his ability to handle the rock, create for his teammates and score on iso plays. The backcourt just lacks a player with ankle breaking ball-handling skills and court vision. The only prospects I see who are able to fill these needs the best while having a high ceiling are probably Jeremy Lamb, Harrison Barnes and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Only Jeremy Lamb has the ball-handling skills that's better than Quincy Miller, then again, I don't think his court vision compares to Quincy Miller. He just seems to be the complete SF along with the potential big time scorer label in this draft when he puts everything together. That's why I think Quincy Miller is the guy for the Raptors.
That being said, he still needs a lot of work on his overall floor game because he can't just be a iso heavy scorer or else he'll be rendered useless when he doesn't have the ball. Although, I have seen him playing off-the-ball better lately: coming off of a down pick usually set by Perry Jones III for the catch-and-shoot at the elbow which seems to be his sweet spot. And part of the reason why Quincy Miller goes through stretches where he looks invisible is due to the fact that Baylor runs their offense heavily through Perry Jones III in the low-block and it doesn't help that Pierre Jackson is always bringing the ball up, dribbling around aimlessly when he can't get the ball inside to Perry Jones only to hoist up a long-range shot.
Quincy was never that of an explosive athlete in high school, so I don't know why people keep bringing up the ACL. It's a concern, but not
that big of an issue. His dribble game was always reliant on ball-handling, hesitation moves, change of speeds and his length that covers so much ground. He's more of a smooth and fluid athlete that when he's fully recovered from the injury, he should look more or less look the same he did in high school. As for his maturity issues, it depends how you look at it. I see a player with the swagger who plays with a chip on his shoulder and can eventually lead a team some day.