dice wrote:jordanwilliams6 wrote:MrSparkle wrote:
I wouldn't go that far... ever... Ray Allen's IQ and playmaking abilities were very good.
IMO he's "JR Smith with great attitude" and more athleticism.
How do people come up with such ridiculous opinions? J.R Smith averaged over 16 points once in his career, and did so on horrible efficiency.
your response is what is ridiculous. first of all, you cherry picked a single season to denigrate smith. secondly, you ignored the "more athleticism" part of what he said. if j.r. smith had lavine's athleticism, guess what? he probably would have scored more points!
if you wan't to actually make a FAIR comparison of the two, use smith's time in denver (age 21-25), which roughly mirrors lavine's time with the bulls (age 22-24). per 36:
25p on 56% ts lavine
20p on 56% ts smith
if smith was leading a terrible team like zach does as opposed to playing on a GOOD team with guys like melo, AI and billups, smith might have put up nearly identical numbers to zach!
Zach is an elite 25+ PPG scorer in the league. He has a poor perception because of how badly his teammates suck.
putting a + on there when he averages exactly 25.0 points per game makes you look irrationally biased. and his poor perception is based as much on his low IQ and poor defense as it is on his team being bad. that's just reality. that said, his perception (along with his defense) continues to improve
I think some of you have yet to realize how this player started out in this league and how important it is that he keeps showing that he's getting better each season since you got him. He was doing the same as a Wolves player with each minute. But it's not like he had even one great player mentor, or good development coaches working with him much. He started with the Wolves in an environment that taught nearly zero players how to get better at shooting, building game IQ, or defense in the prior 15 years. I swear, if I saw even one other player get better at either in a Wolves Uni during that time I would give you his name right now.
Zach did everything on his own, behind the two darlings of the team in Towns/Wiggins. In Minny things are simple, Towns/Wiggins were #1 picks and Lavine wasn't even top 10. That's as deep as they go. But Flip Saunders had plans for him and very unusual for Wolves country was how many minutes and roles Flip was finding for him even though he had very little college exp. You should check out his actual college exp. Most players with that little experience are bound to be a project. Flip wanted to give him playing experience and he cast him upon the shores of the live games to learn. The team had no one else to play really. But he wasn't getting the true direction he needed, just experience minutes, especially when Flip left us early and his plans for LaVine went out the window. Yet, this guy was the one flashing amazing stuff often.
The Wolves team is loaded still today with lack of game IQ, lack of defensive accumen or desire, lack of consistent shooting skills, and since losing players like Zach and Rose there is certainly a lack of heart.
Watching from afar now, I can see a difference. I also noticed him stand up to a coach, and respond to that coach with higher play on the court at the same time. I see significantly more awareness already. I see attempts at defense when it wasn't even a thought in anyone's mind in Minny. I think you see that he is a workhorse with the goal of being a great player. With constant reminders about the importance of improving his defense, and with actual help and direction in exactly how he should, he will. I would suggest you don't let your team move him. I suggest you overlook that he wasn't a top 10 pick. Your team was lucky enough to have a heart player like Rose. This guy is all heart, desire, work, loaded with talents and he's aiming for a rung above most. Just keep teaching him about game IQ and defense. Don't just demand it. He's got everything else in spades and will keep achieving more. By age 27 I think he's going to be taking over as King in someone's castle and even the doubters will have to finally admit it.
In Minnesota, most of us can't stand that he plays for someone else. But we also knew nobody in the Wolves franchise was going to teach him defense or game IQ. Bulls have the connections and staff to do so. Get him some real direction in those areas of need and watch him get better. We have one or two players still capable of 40pt games, but none of them really know defense or have much game IQ yet. Please excuse the book report.
. Where to even start...
