Zach LaVine

[Jazzfan12]

But Kyle Anderson is significantly better at basketball than Zach LaVine is right now.

[EricAnderson]

But Kyle Anderson is significantly better at basketball than Zach LaVine is right now.

and Lavines nba potential is significantly higher then Anderson..

[Star-Lord]

But Kyle Anderson is significantly better at basketball than Zach LaVine is right now.

and Lavines nba potential is significantly higher then Anderson..

That doesn't mean Kyle Anderson is a scrub.

[Jazzfan12]

But Kyle Anderson is significantly better at basketball than Zach LaVine is right now.

and Lavines nba potential is significantly higher then Anderson..

What does this have to do with who should be the main guy on UCLA right now? Kyle Anderson is a better college basketball player (by a large margin) and therefore should be the main guy on UCLA.

[MellowRose]

But Kyle Anderson is significantly better at basketball than Zach LaVine is right now.

and Lavines nba potential is significantly higher then Anderson..

What does this have to do with who should be the main guy on UCLA right now? Kyle Anderson is a better college basketball player (by a large margin) and therefore should be the main guy on UCLA.

Only reason Anderson is even seeing the floor is because of his height. Why is he averaging triple doubles in a lot of his games? NCAA height nor physicality is the same as the NBA. Put Anderson on an NBA team right now, and how many rebounds would he average in about 30 minutes? He'd be lucky to get 5.

Why is he scoring about 15 ppg? Dude pounds the ball for about 90% of each and ever possession. He's going to bee extremely ineffective in the NBA game because he can't do jack squat when he doesn't have the ball in his hands.

6 assists a game? Easy answer - UCLA has got a lot of players who can shoot the ball in catch and shoot situations...and Anderson is NOT one of them.

Let LaVine have the free reign Anderson has, and I'd love to see what would happen. Man, I don't think I've ever seen a player like who has been so limited due to his own damn teammates. Not to put all the blame on everyone else, since LaVine really needs to become more assertive, but Anderson is clearly holding him back.

Hell, Alford's son is more assertive than LaVine. Shame.

[ManualRam]

as ball-dominant as anderson is, he's clearly ucla's best player and they wouldn't nearly be as good as they are without him playing on the ball. it's really that simple. he has been one of the best players in the nation, period. taking the ball out of kyle's hands just so lavine can show you what he could do with it would be stupid. alford doesn't run his team to appease scouts or fans of certain players.
lavine couldn't even handle being in control of the offense like anderson at this stage.

[Star-Lord]

Mellow, you really need to think about what you're saying.

UCLA's Tony Parker is taller, bigger, stronger, and even plays the majority of the game encamped in the paint. Following your logic, he should be outrebounding Anderson by a significant margin. He averages four less. Hell, Joel Embiid is 7 feet tall, and even he grabs two rebounds less than Anderson does.

Saying Anderson rebounds the way he does simply because he's tall is analysis on par with Amare's infamous, "He just got lucky" appraisal of Lamar Odom completely outclassing him head to head in the playoffs a few years back.

Attributing his assist numbers to the Bruins' plethora of catch and shoot players is simply false. Jordan Adams has been streaky this year, and is more comfortable at this point creating off the dribble. Norman Powell is, and probably always will be, way more comfortable trying to drive to the rim than camping out beyond the arc (He's sub 20% from three this season.) The Wear twins are almost completely ineffective scorers when they're more than 15 feet away from the hoop. Outside of LaVine and Bryce Alford, where are all these shooters for UCLA?

The real answer is that Anderson has proven to have a real knack for getting the ball to his teammates at the right place, at the right time.

You're also completely ignoring how effective Anderson is to harp on the fact that he's a high usage player. He's shown that he's a good decision maker, whether the points are coming from him (15ppg on 50% above and below the arc) or one of his teammates.

Anderson isn't a sexy prospect, but the kid can absolutely play basketball at a high level.

[No-Man]

But Kyle Anderson is significantly better at basketball than Zach LaVine is right now.

and Lavines nba potential is significantly higher then Anderson..

who cares? the coach is trying to win, not to develop LaVine potential.
Anderson is one of the best players in the country, the system they run is the best for that team, period.

[Ruzious]

Mellow's right on a lot of what he said. It's just that he's giving the POV from a person interested in pro potential rather than from someone who cares about UCLA. It's hard to argue that Alford is making poor decisions at this point. And some of this is on LaVine. He had 6 assists 2 games ago and virtually disappeared in last night's game. He's got to be more consistent in his assertiveness.

[miltk]

But Kyle Anderson is significantly better at basketball than Zach LaVine is right now.

and Lavines nba potential is significantly higher then Anderson..

i can get me a tall ladder and still not touch the ceiling i my home.

[miltk]

if it hasn't been too obvious, i am a bruin, and this is one reason i'm here

but i am also cognizant of that point at which it makes sense to stay or makes sense to leave. i was ok with farmar, afflalo, mbah moute, love, holiday, westy, and bazz leaving. for various reasons, they all should have left. i'm having a real hard time with zach, though. first let's dispense with the "westbrook with a shot" thing. zach has not thrown down the ball ON anyone this year...in fact he doesn't finish on 95% of his attempts near the rim. he dunks on the break,,,that's it.

so i have a couple of questions. if zach goes in the lottery, do you guys think he'll be with the team or in d-league next year? just in terms of toughness, i think he'll get bounced like a rubber ball, and he'd spend next year riding a bus between bakersfield and las vegas.

second, what teams in the back half of the lottery have a need to draft him? my theory is you're only a lock if you're top5 because every team wants you. if you're a back half lottery, you're more apt to get drafted by need, at which point anything can happen = jrue from #10 to #17.

thx all. and btw, to think kyle is not a high level college player is insane, and a perusal of the first round in the last x number of drafts tells you he's at least a #20 pick.

[MellowRose]

But Kyle Anderson is significantly better at basketball than Zach LaVine is right now.

and Lavines nba potential is significantly higher then Anderson..

i can get me a tall ladder and still not touch the ceiling i my home.

Which is why I'm so frustrated at him. God...LaVine has the POTENTIAL to be great. Hope he doesn't turn out to be someone who doesn't achieve it solely because he's too timid. On the bright side, he still has a lot of time to learn and improve.

[miltk]

and Lavines nba potential is significantly higher then Anderson..

i can get me a tall ladder and still not touch the ceiling i my home.

Which is why I'm so frustrated at him. God...LaVine has the POTENTIAL to be great. Hope he doesn't turn out to be someone who doesn't achieve it solely because he's too timid. On the bright side, he still has a lot of time to learn and improve.

the undercurrent of your theme is that somehow zach might be held back. there is no such thing. a player doesn't lack growth because someone held him back. if you take kobe's statement to heart about not learning in college(which imo can potentially be grossly misinterpreted by the people who matter most,,,the players), then the corollary to that is the same, that no one in college can hold back a player, either.

[MellowRose]

if it hasn't been too obvious, i am a bruin, and this is one reason i'm here

but i am also cognizant of that point at which it makes sense to stay or makes sense to leave. i was ok with farmar, afflalo, mbah moute, love, holiday, westy, and bazz leaving. for various reasons, they all should have left. i'm having a real hard time with zach, though. first let's dispense with the "westbrook with a shot" thing. zach has not thrown down the ball ON anyone this year...in fact he doesn't finish on 95% of his attempts near the rim. he dunks on the break,,,that's it.

so i have a couple of questions. if zach goes in the lottery, do you guys think he'll with the team or in d-league next year? just in terms of toughness, i think he'll get bounced like a rubber ball, and he'd spend next year riding a bus between bakersfield and las vegas.

second, what teams in the back half of the lottery have a need to draft him? my theory is you're only a lock if you're top5 because every team wants you. if you're a back half lottery, you're more apt to get drafted by need, at which point anything can happen = jrue from #10 to #17.

thx all. and btw, to think kyle is not a high level college player is insane, and a perusal of the first round in the last x number of drafts tells you he's at least a #20 pick.

You talking physical toughness or mental? I think he needs to work on both. If Austin Rivers hasn't spent any time in the D-League, I don't see why LaVine would.

Question for you guys who have seen more of LaVine than I have. Why can't this guy make his shots at the basket? Is he too scared to fly towards the basket and get hit while trying to dunk it? If I had LaVines athleticism, I'd be taking it to the rack EVERY damn time.

[MellowRose]

i can get me a tall ladder and still not touch the ceiling i my home.

Which is why I'm so frustrated at him. God...LaVine has the POTENTIAL to be great. Hope he doesn't turn out to be someone who doesn't achieve it solely because he's too timid. On the bright side, he still has a lot of time to learn and improve.

the undercurrent of your theme is that somehow zach might be held back. there is no such thing. a player doesn't lack growth because someone held him back. if you take kobe's statement to heart about not learning in college(which imo can potentially be grossly misinterpreted by the people who matter most,,,the players), then the corollary to that is the same, that no one in college can hold back a player, either.

Don't agree with that exactly. When players enter the draft, there is almost another guy lurking in the shadows waiting for his chance. LaVine is that guy biding for his time to take over. I don't know if it's a mental thing or if Anderson is actually holding him back, or even the coach's system, but there's something def. holding LaVine back.

I just blame it 100% on Anderson, since I'm not too high on him, and it's fun lol.

[miltk]

if it hasn't been too obvious, i am a bruin, and this is one reason i'm here

but i am also cognizant of that point at which it makes sense to stay or makes sense to leave. i was ok with farmar, afflalo, mbah moute, love, holiday, westy, and bazz leaving. for various reasons, they all should have left. i'm having a real hard time with zach, though. first let's dispense with the "westbrook with a shot" thing. zach has not thrown down the ball ON anyone this year...in fact he doesn't finish on 95% of his attempts near the rim. he dunks on the break,,,that's it.

so i have a couple of questions. if zach goes in the lottery, do you guys think he'll with the team or in d-league next year? just in terms of toughness, i think he'll get bounced like a rubber ball, and he'd spend next year riding a bus between bakersfield and las vegas.

second, what teams in the back half of the lottery have a need to draft him? my theory is you're only a lock if you're top5 because every team wants you. if you're a back half lottery, you're more apt to get drafted by need, at which point anything can happen = jrue from #10 to #17.

thx all. and btw, to think kyle is not a high level college player is insane, and a perusal of the first round in the last x number of drafts tells you he's at least a #20 pick.

You talking physical toughness or mental? I think he needs to work on both. If Austin Rivers hasn't spent any time in the D-League, I don't see why LaVine would.

Question for you guys who have seen more of LaVine than I have. Why can't this guy make his shots at the basket? Is he too scared to fly towards the basket and get hit while trying to dunk it? If I had LaVines athleticism, I'd be taking it to the rack EVERY damn time.

physical,,,,but if it happens enough it becomes mental. i don't not know why he cannot finish. manualram said he spazzes out at the rim and he will overcome it. here's is what i've noticed...he doesn't get lift when he goes in - he is thwarted by virtually everyone. for a guy who makes athletic dunks on the break, he barely even reaches the rim otherwise. a couple of times when he's cleared to the rim, he's opted to lay the ball in.

could it be he has small hands??? there have been 3 or so REALLY POORLY thrown alley oops that zach hasn't even come close to handling...passes i've seen other less hyped players adjust for and at least controlled the ball to some extent.

[miltk]

does small hands change your perception of "potential"???

zach missed yet another dunk...this time a perfect ally-oop, caught right at the apex of his jump with no one in sight. he skyed very high, as usual, but caught the ball with TWO HANDS before switching to dunk with one.

he has not completed an ally oop yet this season.

[ManualRam]

does small hands change your perception of "potential"???

zach missed yet another dunk...this time a perfect ally-oop, caught right at the apex of his jump with no one in sight. he skyed very high, as usual, but caught the ball with TWO HANDS before switching to dunk with one.

he has not completed an ally oop yet this season.

i don't even think he touched the rim. he was too far away from the rim but still tried to throw it down. he probably should've just caught it and went back up.

[miltk]

does small hands change your perception of "potential"???

zach missed yet another dunk...this time a perfect ally-oop, caught right at the apex of his jump with no one in sight. he skyed very high, as usual, but caught the ball with TWO HANDS before switching to dunk with one.

he has not completed an ally oop yet this season.

i don't even think he touched the rim. he was too far away from the rim but still tried to throw it down. he probably should've just caught it and went back up.

re-viewed the tape. yes it was further away from the basket than i thought. maybe zach wants to put up a hilite dunk for espn every chance he gets - he slammed that ball pretty hard. however many many players can at least control the ball with one hand to some degree whether they finish or not. this was a one-handed catch&dunk for the very reason that it was further from the basket...jmho

[Mark_83]

he has not completed an ally oop yet this season.

2:03-2:06

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