The OFFICIAL Rookie impressions thread

[Scout Taron]

As a Bucks fan I'll have to agree: both Jennings and Ellis like to shoot a lot more than pass. But I want Ellis shooting the ball. That's his job. I don't think Jennings will ever be a good point guard although he can be a valuable combo guard. However I'm a realist, and I don't try to gloss over my team's deficiencies. The Piston's guards like to shoot too much as well. In certain settings that's alright. But unless you're Rose or Westbrook you can't have the player with the ball most of the time looking for his inefficient points at the expense of team play. Some fans have to take their blinders off and realize that many of their team's players are less than perfect. Stuckey and Knight could be valuable players, but they have to learn to take better shots. And I'll mention again I think the Piston's future looks brighter than my Bucks. But only if they pick up the team IQ... a lot of which can be remedied with a smart point guard.

I just think you're off base on your criticism. Our guards' problem isn't taking bad shots. Stuckey's problem is that he very very aggressive, which leads to a lot of FTs, but he can get out of control and charge the defender or make a shot unnecessarily difficult with contact, as opposed to taking a floater or a shot with more touch. He also has a tendency to miss easier layups. Knight's problem is that he doesn't have the instinct or ability to manipulate a defense and find his teammates. He also has trouble finishing through contact due to his less than explosive vertical and comparatively skinny frame.

Neither of them are chuckers who routinely take bad shots. In fact, Stuckey and Knight were 7th and 8th on the team in FGA per 36.

Will Bynum is a different story though.

[roc]

hmmm, back on the rookie's topic....

been a few days since Dre played, hoping to see some beast mode tonight.

Can't wait for the season to start so I can see how all these rooks look in some real action, this draft was deep so should be fun.

[Yuri Vaultin]

Anyone else noticed Maalik Wayns on the 76ers?

[sam_I_am]

So far my impressions are that Davis is still #1 prospect in draft but has been up and down so far which is to be expected. Lillard will be ROY. Drummond is already proving that GMs are so afraid of pulling a Portland that they are blind to the obvious: 7 ft guys with explosive athleticism are sure fire NBA players even if they haven't figured out how to play yet. After that I think Beal, Barnes, Sullinger, Nicholsen, Jones III are poised to make biggest impacts this year. Most likely to disappoint are Robinson, Walters, Rivers, Royce White, Marshall. T. Jones, T. Ross, Lamb, Zeller, Leonard are kind of boring but probably will have solid 10 year careers.

[ComboGuardCity]

^During the preseason Knight's court vision looks improved, I wouldn't sleep on him...Austin Rivers is a SG, I have no idea what the Hornets organization are thinking by playing him at the 1...

Well apparently his favourite player is Rose lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo6UBl8y ... re=related

I bet he'd love to be taking 23 29 shots a game.

Austin Rivers is eloquent. This is why he got picked over Jeremy "Who are the Blazers?" Lamb.

[Cigamodnalro]

I'm an Andrew Nicholson fan

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vheb1ba71w[/youtube]

[Hero]

So far my impressions are that Davis is still #1 prospect in draft but has been up and down so far which is to be expected. Lillard will be ROY. Drummond is already proving that GMs are so afraid of pulling a Portland that they are blind to the obvious: 7 ft guys with explosive athleticism are sure fire NBA players even if they haven't figured out how to play yet.

Agreed at this point on RoY and best prospect. I think Davis might be able to do it if Eric Gordon is healthy but if he isn't I'm not sure. Lillard looks very mature and poised out there.

[Optms]

Drummond is still a high risk high reward player so you can't blame GM's that have their jobs on the line to seek the safer bet. And you certainly cannot make out the final verdict based on 5 to 6 pre season games. Javale McGee is an explosive highly athletic athlete also. Five years now and on his second team. I don't think I'd want to wait that long for my top 4 or 5 pick to "get it." He's a steal for Detroit at 9 but they're going to have to be patient with him.

[Jon1798]

I am a little shocked at how many people are so quick to throw out, "Lillard will win ROY", through 5 games based on what Anthony Davis has also done so far. It seems people only remember the very last game, and Lillard went 21 and 8, as if Davis didn't go 22 and 9 in 30 minutes of only his second game.

Per 36, Davis is averaging 15.76, 11.76 and 1.65. And this is all without Eric Gordon who is the real creator for the team.

I think Lillard is a fantastic player, all-star in the making. And I think he is going to give AD one hell of a run for his money. For a long time I thought there was a chance he would make it all the way to ten and the Hornets would get both. How great would that have been?

But Davis is just getting a feel for things. I think when all is said and done, he is going to absolutely fill up the stat sheet in every way.

[Eoghan]

Bufferoonery....I like it .

Anyway, can Charlotte fans give us an update on MKG? I didn't think he'd be lighting up the scoreboard, but how is he playing so far? Stats seem to show he's at least being active in limited minutes, which is what I would have expected. How limited has his offensive game been?

Really small sample size b/c Dunlap has been really random with the minutes but pretty much what you'd expect.

His jumper is a work in progress to put it nicely but his slashing and passing ability has stood out the most on offense. His defense is as tenacious as advertised but his youthful enthusiasm has earned him some cheap fouls here and there. It's going to be tough sledding until defenses respect his jumper at least a little bit b/c they're pretty much daring him to shoot it right now and the Bobcats don't really have the talent for him to stand out by just doing dirty work and getting set up by teammates like the Spurs and Kawhi last year for example.

How is Beal looking? He's my favorite for ROY b/c he should be able to put up some good scoring numbers and I think Washington might push for a playoff spot. I don't know if the Blazers are going to be good enough in the crowded West to give Lillard's numbers some substance.

[Kabookalu]

This is for me the first draft I've seen where the later picks have gotten a lot of attention. Andrew Nicholson, Terrence Jones, Jared Sullinger, Perry Jones, and Jae Crowder are some non lotto picks that have all been good. I know it's been said to death already but this draft is deep. Most likely they'll all settle down but I don't remember this many non lotto picks looking this impressive so early on.

[slick_watts]

Perry Jones is shooting 60% in preseason and has generally looked okay scoring the ball when he's been in there, though I have questions about his jump shot. More intriguing is that there's some thought that he could beat out Daequan Cook for a rotation spot on the team.

He definitely seems more of a SF at this point in time than a PF, though. A little weak on the boards, and he has no idea how to play defense (think he played zone in college).

[Johnlac1]

The Piston's guards like to shoot too much as well.

Please stop it, you're making yourself look foolish...You should start a successful thread named "how are we going to trade Drew Gooden" jk

No problem...I've never been afraid to be right. The Piston's guards are not up to snuff in starting positions. I'll let that stand. The Bucks sort of made a panic move getting rid of Bogut to get Ellis. They still didn't get in the playoffs. Now I'm well aware of Bogut's injury problems, but now the Bucks are once again in the position of having to get a strong defensive center to compete. Dalembert is better than Gooden in that respect, but both are stopgap. Treadmill time for my Bucks I'm afraid.

[CBB_Fan]

Perry Jones is shooting 60% in preseason and has generally looked okay scoring the ball when he's been in there, though I have questions about his jump shot. More intriguing is that there's some thought that he could beat out Daequan Cook for a rotation spot on the team.

He definitely seems more of a SF at this point in time than a PF, though. A little weak on the boards, and he has no idea how to play defense (think he played zone in college).

I think the Thunder's intention with PJIII is to use him as a back-up SF with a few minutes at PF. He is perhaps the only other near footer (seven footer that is) SF that can come in to replace another near footer SF. He will never have the shooting ability of Kevin Durant, but his athleticism will allow him to give KD some breathers.

If he proves he can play, you might occasionally see a line-up of:

PG: Westbrook
SG: Harden
SF: Durant
PF: Jones III
C: Ibaka

This is what I call the "run you off the floor" line-up. No other team could field a line-up with that much length and athleticism. However, usually I think you'll see him come in for KD for about 6-8 minutes a game and maybe get a few more minutes by pushing Ibaka to center. If he becomes a real threat (in a couple years), he'll transition to being a more full-time PF.

[slick_watts]

I think the Thunder's intention with PJIII is to use him as a back-up SF with a few minutes at PF. He is perhaps the only other near footer (seven footer that is) SF that can come in to replace another near footer SF. He will never have the shooting ability of Kevin Durant, but his athleticism will allow him to give KD some breathers.

Yup, this would in effect be taking Daequan Cook's role. The Thunder 2nd unit has a 3 guard lineup with Maynor / Cook / Harden with the two bigs (probably Collison and Aldrich this year). Not sure how I feel about that. Cook's been in the dog house but he's played well for stretches, and Jones hasn't shown he is a top notch shooter.

Alternatively they can go small and not use the backup center, with Jones ostensibly at PF.

Brooks let it slip in an interview that Jones was Durant's backup, and there's no way Brooks does an 11 man rotation. So I think it's likely Jones will get Cook's minutes in the rotation, which surprises me.

This is what I call the "run you off the floor" line-up. No other team could field a line-up with that much length and athleticism. However, usually I think you'll see him come in for KD for about 6-8 minutes a game and maybe get a few more minutes by pushing Ibaka to center. If he becomes a real threat (in a couple years), he'll transition to being a more full-time PF.

That may be the end-game with him, if he pans out. Way too early to say, of course. But it seems he's going to be given some rotation minutes to start the season, which is more than I thought he'd get.

[Blkbrd671]

Drummond is still a high risk high reward player so you can't blame GM's that have their jobs on the line to seek the safer bet. And you certainly cannot make out the final verdict based on 5 to 6 pre season games. Javale McGee is an explosive highly athletic athlete also. Five years now and on his second team. I don't think I'd want to wait that long for my top 4 or 5 pick to "get it." He's a steal for Detroit at 9 but they're going to have to be patient with him.

i completely disagree to Drummond being a high risk player. Even though its preseason and its only been 5-6 games, he shown he can consistently effect the game while he's on the court. The risk when we drafted him was that he was too green on both sides of the floor, no heart, and would get lost in the mix of things. He's clearly ready defensively showing good instinct, rotation and hands, hustles down the court, and plays with in his game. He also has a nice touch around the rim. I'm not stating he's a allstar, but i don't get statements that he's still a risky pick.

One thing that i did notice is that at times he does look disinterested, but its always right when he enters the game and seems as soon as he gets that first touch, it lights a fire under him.

[CBB_Fan]

I think the Thunder's intention with PJIII is to use him as a back-up SF with a few minutes at PF. He is perhaps the only other near footer (seven footer that is) SF that can come in to replace another near footer SF. He will never have the shooting ability of Kevin Durant, but his athleticism will allow him to give KD some breathers.

Yup, this would in effect be taking Daequan Cook's role. The Thunder 2nd unit has a 3 guard lineup with Maynor / Cook / Harden with the two bigs (probably Collison and Aldrich this year). Not sure how I feel about that. Cook's been in the dog house but he's played well for stretches, and Jones hasn't shown he is a top notch shooter.

Alternatively they can go small and not use the backup center, with Jones ostensibly at PF.

Brooks let it slip in an interview that Jones was Durant's backup, and there's no way Brooks does an 11 man rotation. So I think it's likely Jones will get Cook's minutes in the rotation, which surprises me.

This is what I call the "run you off the floor" line-up. No other team could field a line-up with that much length and athleticism. However, usually I think you'll see him come in for KD for about 6-8 minutes a game and maybe get a few more minutes by pushing Ibaka to center. If he becomes a real threat (in a couple years), he'll transition to being a more full-time PF.

That may be the end-game with him, if he pans out. Way too early to say, of course. But it seems he's going to be given some rotation minutes to start the season, which is more than I thought he'd get.

I think Jones is taking Cook's time because of his potential, not necessarily his immediate impact. The Thunder's plan seems to be to try and give him a fair amount of playing time in order to cultivate his potential.

Jones may not be a good shooter (probably not going to ever be a shooting wizard; usually that is something that isn't suddenly developed), but he is athletic enough to make plays. I think he will bring a dimension of play that Cook cannot, eventually. The Thunder are probably just trying to get that eventually as soon as feasible.

[Bskey]

I am a little shocked at how many people are so quick to throw out, "Lillard will win ROY", through 5 games based on what Anthony Davis has also done so far. It seems people only remember the very last game, and Lillard went 21 and 8, as if Davis didn't go 22 and 9 in 30 minutes of only his second game.

Per 36, Davis is averaging 15.76, 11.76 and 1.65. And this is all without Eric Gordon who is the real creator for the team.

I think Lillard is a fantastic player, all-star in the making. And I think he is going to give AD one hell of a run for his money. For a long time I thought there was a chance he would make it all the way to ten and the Hornets would get both. How great would that have been?

But Davis is just getting a feel for things. I think when all is said and done, he is going to absolutely fill up the stat sheet in every way.

I have no issue with people picking AD for RoY. I think he's got as great a chance as Lillard has. It's just that Lillard is a guard, who can score. We all know by now that NBA awards to go scorers and the current league loves it's guards. It doesn't mean Lillard will ultimately be a better player than AD in the long run.

Lillard is very veteran-like out there, he might start looking good before AD puts it together. RoY doesn't really mean much in the grand scheme.

I think Lillard will be the front runner unless AD has a hell of a rookie year. Wouldn't be shocked to see AD take it though.

[Blkbrd671]

^i really think we could see Harden/Jones trade midseason for a immediate impact player to help get over the hump. unless Jones develops a lot quicker or shows he can contribute immediately

[UGA Hayes]

If Jae Crowder keeps playing as well as he has in preseason it will be a big score for the stat geeks.