College basketball and 2017 draft - One more poll after last game

[Phoenix-Sons]

I like Smith a lot, but don't know If I want to pair another minus defender with Booker...

[bwgood77]

I like Smith a lot, but don't know If I want to pair another minus defender with Booker...

It doesn't look like he's terrible. Not like this anyway.

Read on Twitter

[Phoenix-Sons]

I like Smith a lot, but don't know If I want to pair another minus defender with Booker...

It doesn't look like he's terrible. Not like this anyway.

Read on Twitter

Lord have mercy

I wouldn't be completely opposed to taking Smith, but we have to make sure that we have good defenders, especially rim protection to make up for Smith's and Bookers lack of defense.

[PackSuns]

I like Smith a lot, but don't know If I want to pair another minus defender with Booker...

It doesn't look like he's terrible. Not like this anyway.

Read on Twitter

Lord have mercy

I wouldn't be completely opposed to taking Smith, but we have to make sure that we have good defenders, especially rim protection to make up for Smith's and Bookers lack of defense.

I have been more critical of DSJ than almost anyone I know. I have seen him play almost more than anyone I know. NC State was missing 2 starters for the first 10 games or so of the year but since then DSJ has been very good to great. He was ask to do a lot the first 10 games. Plus he was coming off an ACL injury and he didn't play his senior year of high school. He was a great defender in HS and AAU. Dominated all the PG camps on both ends of the court. (See video of him and Oladipo). He will be be fine on the defensive end. His shooting has looked great lately(hit his last 12 of 18 threes I believe). I went from warm to hot on DSJ.

[Phoenix-Sons]

It doesn't look like he's terrible. Not like this anyway.

Read on Twitter

Lord have mercy

I wouldn't be completely opposed to taking Smith, but we have to make sure that we have good defenders, especially rim protection to make up for Smith's and Bookers lack of defense.

I have been more critical of DSJ than almost anyone I know. I have seen him play almost more than anyone I know. NC State was missing 2 starters for the first 10 games or so of the year but since then DSJ has been very good to great. He was ask to do a lot the first 10 games. Plus he was coming off an ACL injury and he didn't play his senior year of high school. He was a great defender in HS and AAU. Dominated all the PG camps on both ends of the court. (See video of him and Oladipo). He will be be fine on the defensive end. His shooting has looked great lately(hit his last 12 of 18 threes I believe). I went from warm to hot on DSJ.

I haven't watched much of Smith myself so I don't know too much about him. I've mostly focused on Fultz and Ball, but I'll start watching some stuff on Smith. It seems like he's still really athletic even though injuring his knee and he can pass the rock when needed which is a plus.

[Damkac]

Would Smith be upgrade as a playmaker over Bledsoe or is he more of a scorer too?

[thamadkant]

Thomas being a poor defender is well known...being 5'7 and a buck fifty in weight.

But 27ppg and 7apg are All Star numbers no matter what.
The guy is paid 7 million and putting up great offensive numbers. Kudos.

[Damkac]

And everybody hated him so hard when he played for Suns.

[Duke4life831]

Would Smith be upgrade as a playmaker over Bledsoe or is he more of a scorer too?

Hes a pretty underrated passer for sure. He gets most of his assists out of the PnR. Id say this think of his facilitating more along the lines of a Westbrook. Hyper aggressive, always attacking and attacking, but I think Smith is a more willing passer and has better vision. If you want the biggest upgrade for playmaking its easily Ball. He runs an offense better than any other PG I've seen in college in a pretty long time. He also isn't one that needs to have the ball and pound it. Hes going to make sure it keeps moving when it needs to.

Smith is the ultimate PnR point guard, Ball is the ultimate free flowing offense type PG while Fultz to me is a better version Dangelo Russell. I think in the end he is going to be a very good SG that can also pass it very well. I personally still think Ball fits your team better

[bwgood77]

Would Smith be upgrade as a playmaker over Bledsoe or is he more of a scorer too?

Hes a pretty underrated passer for sure. He gets most of his assists out of the PnR. Id say this think of his facilitating more along the lines of a Westbrook. Hyper aggressive, always attacking and attacking, but I think Smith is a more willing passer and has better vision. If you want the biggest upgrade for playmaking its easily Ball. He runs an offense better than any other PG I've seen in college in a pretty long time. He also isn't one that needs to have the ball and pound it. Hes going to make sure it keeps moving when it needs to.

Smith is the ultimate PnR point guard, Ball is the ultimate free flowing offense type PG while Fultz to me is a better version Dangelo Russell. I think in the end he is going to be a very good SG that can also pass it very well. I personally still think Ball fits your team better

Who do you think wins the Rabb/Markaanen matchup tonight?

[Duke4life831]

Would Smith be upgrade as a playmaker over Bledsoe or is he more of a scorer too?

Hes a pretty underrated passer for sure. He gets most of his assists out of the PnR. Id say this think of his facilitating more along the lines of a Westbrook. Hyper aggressive, always attacking and attacking, but I think Smith is a more willing passer and has better vision. If you want the biggest upgrade for playmaking its easily Ball. He runs an offense better than any other PG I've seen in college in a pretty long time. He also isn't one that needs to have the ball and pound it. Hes going to make sure it keeps moving when it needs to.

Smith is the ultimate PnR point guard, Ball is the ultimate free flowing offense type PG while Fultz to me is a better version Dangelo Russell. I think in the end he is going to be a very good SG that can also pass it very well. I personally still think Ball fits your team better

Who do you think wins the Rabb/Markaanen matchup tonight?

Zona wins. Markkanen puts up more points while Rabb has the more complete game.

[DirtyDez]

Markk could use another year... Almost ready to stop doubting Lonzo's 3-ball. Beyond the box score, how'd he look inside the arc?

[Zelaznyrules]

And everybody hated him so hard when he played for Suns.

Many of the internet posters (here and elsewhere) did but "everybody" doesn't work. It was obvious to many of us that we played our best when Thomas was on the court and I know I wasn't alone in supporting him. Unfortunately, there was a lot of loud pro-Goran support which made it look a little more one-sided than it was.

[Blackification]

And everybody hated him so hard when he played for Suns.

Many of the internet posters (here and elsewhere) did but "everybody" doesn't work. It was obvious to many of us that we played our best when Thomas was on the court and I know I wasn't alone in supporting him. Unfortunately, there was a lot of loud pro-Goran support which made it look a little more one-sided than it was.

I was always a fan of his but didn't think he was right for the team or a particularly good signing. I think many people knew he was a good player but not the right fit when we had two point guards already.

I want us to draft Lonzo but I have already accepted that we will end up drafting Malik

[bwgood77]

And everybody hated him so hard when he played for Suns.

Many of the internet posters (here and elsewhere) did but "everybody" doesn't work. It was obvious to many of us that we played our best when Thomas was on the court and I know I wasn't alone in supporting him. Unfortunately, there was a lot of loud pro-Goran support which made it look a little more one-sided than it was.

I was always a fan of his but didn't think he was right for the team or a particularly good signing. I think many people knew he was a good player but not the right fit when we had two point guards already.

I want us to draft Lonzo but I have already accepted that we will end up drafting Malik

Yes, Thomas is a great scorer, but I have never been a fan of guys who dribbled the whole shot clock and dumped it for a potential assist a the end only when they couldn't get their own. I want team ball.

I don't like freelance basketball from individuals on a consistent basis. It's not a recipe for success in the playoffs. I could argue that Barkley cost the team in the playoffs because of it.

[Blackification]

Many of the internet posters (here and elsewhere) did but "everybody" doesn't work. It was obvious to many of us that we played our best when Thomas was on the court and I know I wasn't alone in supporting him. Unfortunately, there was a lot of loud pro-Goran support which made it look a little more one-sided than it was.

I was always a fan of his but didn't think he was right for the team or a particularly good signing. I think many people knew he was a good player but not the right fit when we had two point guards already.

I want us to draft Lonzo but I have already accepted that we will end up drafting Malik

Yes, Thomas is a great scorer, but I have never been a fan of guys who dribbled the whole shot clock and dumped it for a potential assist a the end only when they couldn't get their own. I want team ball.

I don't like freelance basketball from individuals on a consistent basis. It's not a recipe for success in the playoffs. I could argue that Barkley cost the team in the playoffs because of it.

Well said. My biggest reason for wanting Lonzo is his passing (haven't seen much Fultz I will admit but I don't think we get 1st pick anyway because its the Suns). Tired of watching Bledsoe, Knight, and Booker do this very same thing.

I'm imagining the passing game between Lonzo Booker and Bender in 2 or three years.

[gaspar]

Almost ready to stop doubting Lonzo's 3-ball. Beyond the box score, how'd he look inside the arc?

He has no mid-range game whatsoever and he doesn't have the explosiveness to beat his defender off the dribble and attack the rim. In the half-court offense he operates strictly behind the 3-point line and is basically limited to a spot-up shooter role, almost like Kendall Marshall.

His efficiency and assist numbers are inflated by transition stats. Here's a good breakdown how elite guards in this class fare at getting to the basket off the dribble: LINK.



I think Ball should go in the 5-10 range in the draft rather than the top-3.

[Marcus]

Almost ready to stop doubting Lonzo's 3-ball. Beyond the box score, how'd he look inside the arc?

He has no mid-range game whatsoever and he doesn't have the explosiveness to beat his defender off the dribble and attack the rim. In the half-court offense he operates strictly behind the 3-point line and is basically limited to a spot-up shooter role, almost like Kendall Marshall.

His efficiency and assist numbers are inflated by transition stats. Here's a good breakdown how elite guards in this class fare at getting to the basket off the dribble: LINK.



I think Ball should go in the 5-10 range in the draft rather than the top-3.

If you're looking for numbers to evaluate Lonzo's worth then you're going about it wrong.

[Zelaznyrules]

Almost ready to stop doubting Lonzo's 3-ball. Beyond the box score, how'd he look inside the arc?

He has no mid-range game whatsoever and he doesn't have the explosiveness to beat his defender off the dribble and attack the rim. In the half-court offense he operates strictly behind the 3-point line and is basically limited to a spot-up shooter role, almost like Kendall Marshall.

His efficiency and assist numbers are inflated by transition stats. Here's a good breakdown how elite guards in this class fare at getting to the basket off the dribble: LINK.



I think Ball should go in the 5-10 range in the draft rather than the top-3.

If you're looking for numbers to evaluate Lonzo's worth then you're going about it wrong.

If you're evaluating him as a college player, you're probably right. But if you're trying to project him to the next level, I think the numbers are very revealing. I love watching him play and AFAIC he's one of the best college players in the past few decades but I'm not convinced he's an impact player at the next level. I just can't see him playing point in the NBA despite his incredible court awareness and floor leadership. His lack of a mid-range game along with below average PG foot speed will do him in unless he can make the move to SF or SG.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Since 2006 only 1 draft has had 4 All-Stars in the top 10 picks (2007 - Picks 1, 4, 5,10)

If this is a strong draft, that's probably about what we're looking at this year.