Post#250 » by prime1time » Fri Feb 5, 2021 7:35 pm
I don't understand the knocking of Cunningham here. Both Suggs and Cunningham will be good. So let me defend Cunningham. 6'8, 220 and he's a better shooter than Suggs. He shoots more 3's than Suggs and at a higher percentage than Suggs. He attempts more FT's than Suggs and he makes them at a higher percentage than Suggs. Cunningham is shooting 83.8% from the FT line and 39.7% from 3. And most of these shots are off the dribble. To be his side, to be as fluid as he is, to have a jump shot that is already that effective, to already be a knock-down ft shooter I really don't see how you can argue against the kid.
More so, I haven't even talked about his greatest attribute, which is his mind. I started watching tape of him last night. The dude is going to a great player period. He see's the game one second quicker than the average player. Cunningham understands the game in such an intuitive level that he doesn't actually need to look at a player and see that he's open to make the pass. As he plays he knows where everyone is and he can just understand that when the help defender rotates, the guy in the corner is open. This may not sound like much, but it's the difference between getting a wide-open shot for a teammate or allowing the defender time to get back in position. From a mental and ability standpoint, his mind is able to process the game and his skills allow him to execute what needs to be done.
Again this may not sound like much, but he makes the right play so consistently. Open shot for 3, he's immediately ready to shoot the 3 in the rhythm. Smaller defender switches on, he immediately takes him to the post. Trap on the PnR, he stretches the defense out and immediately whips a pinpoint pass to his teammate in the corner. Does he make mistakes? Yes. But the key is that he's learning. He will be a force as soon as he comes into the league because of his ball-handling, ability to make shots, length, finishing ability and passing. But as he gets more reps and learns from his mistakes he will become truly special. Imo, he's the best prospect I've seen since KD. I love Suggs and Mobley will be special but this draft for me is Cunningham and everyone else.
There is simply no reason for this kid to be in College. In some of the film, I watch it felt as if he was going through the motions. Like it is just too easy for him. But then I saw what happened when he could use something to get himself going. In one case it was the crowd chanting overrated, in another case, it was OK State causing a shot-clock violation down the stretch. Regardless, I saw the fire, the passion and the intensity that the great one's have. Cade Cunningham's floor is being a very good player and making multiple all-star games. But if he accepts the challenge of being great, if he lets his competitive drive guide him and is committed to becoming the best player he can be, when it's all said and done, he will go down with the other one-name stars this league has seen. Dirk, Kobe, KG, Mike, Magic, Bird, Shaq, Hakeem, Duncan, LBJ, D-Wade etc. He's that good.
If somehow he ends up on the Wizards, we should pay homage to the Basketball Gods.
