GHOSTofSIKMA wrote:thonnisbeastley wrote:GHOSTofSIKMA wrote:bookers defense would have already improved if he thought of himself as a winner instead of a scorer. hes been around that long anyway. beal on the other hand is just a bum on that side. you are NOT IN THE DISCUSSION of being a top player in this league if your defense falls into bottom 25% of drpm and likes to park there
stack up all their advanced and boxscore stats......per 100 possessions and even the scoring ability.... middleton stacks up with every category offensively and blows them away defensively. im not trading middleton away for michael redd with this theory that once he got here he'd "try harder"
Lol, well it's clear you're a big big Middleton guy.
To say Booker's defense would have already improved because he's been around long enough is absurd. He's 23, has played for a bottom 5 team his entire career, and was given the greenlight to jack up whatever he wanted. Even so, with higher usage and more shot attempts last year he was as efficient as Middleton on the offensive side of the ball. Middleton had a career year and will likely drop back down to his norms. Also, imagine if Booker had the looks Middleton gets by playing with Giannis.
Middleton also played with Bledsoe, Brook, Giannis - 3 ALL NBA-Defensive team players the last 2 seasons. His defensive stats the last couple of seasons are inflated because of this. He's no longer a high level defender, hasn't been since the hamstring injury.
If Middleton was in PHO and given the greenlight, playing for a bottom 5 team these last 4 years, he'd look way more like Michael Redd than Booker does.
meh... when middleton was bookers age he had some of the best defensive metrics in the league. we know how middleton would have looked in pheonix because in his early career thats what milwaukee was and his rpm and on/offs were thru the roof defensively. just a smart player who played hard.
the argument that beal or booker would try harder here when its clear they dont give a **** there.... well thats just not how it works..... and considering middelton gives you some defense along with scoring production and efficiency right on par with the other two if he chucked as much.... then it would just be foolish send him out for guys like that.
the only guys we should consider for middleton are all nba'ers... thats just where im at
Lmao...Please go look at Middleton's stats as a 23yo and tell me he was better than Booker last season.
You can love Middleton all you want, hate on Booker all you want, absolutely hilarious comparison though for you to use. The argument that a 23 year old who has played for one of the worst run franchises in the league wouldn't be able to adapt to a new environment, ever, is absolutely absurd. Essentially you're saying that at the age of 23, he is who he is and he will never be able to be anything else. How close-minded can you get...
Also you have it backwards. If Middleton chucked as much with no one else around him to help, his efficiency would drop dramatically. His efficiency benefits greatly from playing next to Giannis.
I get what you're saying...it's just Middleton is not an all NBA'er, he's more of a Beal/Booker in terms of value.