nate33 wrote:NatP4 wrote:Beal was a lot better than Hachimura in his first few seasons and exploded at age 23 (same age as Hachimura currently)
Go look at their numbers. This is a comparison between Rui's 2nd season at age 22, and Beal's 3rd season at age 21
Note that Beal had a TS% of .527 while Rui's is .563. Also factor that Rui is a better defender.
It's easy to forget that Beal really was not very good his first few years. He
looked good (like Rui does), but he was pretty ineffective statistically.
There are also many players who aren't very good their first few years, including guys picked high in the draft, who never become very good. Thus, this comparison is obviously completely meaningless! It indicates nothing whatever about Rui -- neither anything real nor anything potential.
Brad was taken #3 in 2012, but Dion Waiters was taken #4. Thomas Robinson went #5. Austin Rivers was taken #10. Why aren't you using Waiters or Robinson or Rivers as models for Rui's development?
Just as in the case of Beal, a *negative* comparison of Rui with Waiters/Robinson/Rivers would also be meaningless.
A player can only be good if his numbers are good, because that is what it means to be a good basketball player -- this is not ballet. We are not making an aesthetic judgment. What makes LeBron great is that he puts up great numbers. What it means to say that Troy Brown Jr. did not play well this year is that he put up bad numbers. Period.
When nate said he was encouraged, b/c Rui had just played well overall in his last seven games, he pointed out that Rui's numbers had improved in those games. He didn't say Rui had danced really well! Numbers.
If we ask "was Rui Hachimura good as a rookie?," what we are asking about is the numbers he put up. We are not asking about his performance as if it was a floor routine in gymnastics. Nobody is holding up a sign with "10" on it. Rui created the "sign" -- his numbers.
The answer is, "no, Rui Hachimura was not good as a rookie," which means he did not put up good numbers. If you think he did, then to put the matter simply you are just plain wrong, because he didn't. Go look at the numbers.
Before we ask the question "is Rui Hachimura good as a 2d year player?" it would be natural to ask a related question: "has Rui Hachimura gotten better as a 2d year player?" I.e. better than he was as a rookie.
The answer to that is to look at his numbers as a second year player. If the numbers are better, then yes he has gotten better. If the numbers are not better, then he has not gotten better. Period.
So, you tell me -- have Rui's numbers gotten better this year? Overall, that is -- on balance. I.e. is he scoring more points or fewer? Is he scoring more efficiently or less efficiently? Is he grabbing more defensive rebounds or fewer? More offensive boards or fewer? Is he getting more assists or fewer? How about blocks? Steals? Turnovers? Fouls?