NavLDO wrote:bigfoot wrote:AtheJ415 wrote:
Disagree. Ayton is plenty skilled, as is Porter. Bagley is a little rawer but he isn't unskilled imo. Really only Bamba fits that mold imo.
Stupid logic rating skill based on 10 college games.
These guys are athletic freaks that dominated in high school because of their size and quickness and the suckiness of most prep players. They lose some of that advantage in college and then it goes completely away in the NBA. Measure their skills based on simple stuff like shooting free throws and three point percentages. For the most part, it is substandard for these so-called "generational" players you talk about. Wipe the drool off your chin and start looking at the reality of the situation with these 18 year old players. It's nothing but hype and the Suns are paying the price right now for athletes with "potential".
Dudley the least athletic player on our teams is far, far better than Bender or Chriss at PF.
I keep seeing posters say this, but what exactly are you basing this off of? He's played 12 games, and outside of 3 of them, where he shot 8 of 12 FG% (6 of 8 3PT%), he' actually put up some pretty dismal numbers...like 32% FG% and 25% 3PT% in the other 75% of his games. Dudley has not looked all that great this year, either, and Bender has made some strides. Not to mention, Dudley was already 24 before started to look halfway decent, so Bender and Chriss still have 4 years before we need to worry...
Dudley has never been a stat line player. He won't light up the box score or anything but his on court impact is very apparent the moment he steps on. He makes the right plays, draws fouls, draws charges, makes the right passes and his leadership is vocal. And the FACT that he does play, often times in place of Bender and Chriss shows not only his impact but also just the lack of consistency from those young guys. I've said this before, if Chriss or Bender are not playing because of an overweight 32yo unathletic SF, that says more about those two than it does Dudley.
In the last 9 game stretch where Dudley played 7 of them, he's averaged 4.6/2.6/2.7 in 16mpg, that's around 9/6/6 per36. Nothing crazy but shows he's doing a little bit of everything. In those 7 games, he's also a marginally positive plus/minus player.
In that same 9 game stretch (not including the last 2 where Dudley didn't play), Chriss averaged a decent 6.6/4.6/1 in 20mpg and with a+2.2 plus/minus. Per36 that's 12/8/2
Bender is the one that's been stinking it up as of late. He averaged a paltry 2.6/1.4/0.8 in the same amount of PT as Dudley. That's a pathetic 6/3/2 per36...also logged in a -8.3 plus/minus
The reason Dudley plays is because he's reliable. Reliable not in putting up points but reliable in playing basketball the right way and making right plays out there. Chriss and Bender are often productive not because they know how to play but because their talent carries them. Chriss takes simple shots which go in. Bender hits his 3's sometimes. Doesn't require a lot of BBIQ to take shots. It's the other aspect of the game like rebounding, team defense and passing, that's where Dudley's understanding of the game makes him a reliable player on the court.
