nate33 wrote:I'm a Rui believer. I recognize the naysayers' arguments that he is inefficient, doesn't rebound, and is slow to react in help defense; and I see that his numbers haven't really improved over two years...
It's not that his numbers "haven't really improved." Overall, they were
worse his second year.
nate33 wrote:but there is something about the way he has improved via the eye test that has me excited. He looked much better late last season than he did earlier in the year or in his rookie year....
&... his numbers were better as well. If that kind of improvement continues or increases, then there's more reason to project his development positively.
nate33 wrote:...In a way, he kind of reminds me of Beal's development. Statistically, Beal didn't improve one bit over his first 4 seasons, but he looked better each year while posting the same mediocre numbers. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, it all came together and he was suddenly an All-Star caliber player.
Maybe I'm just a delusional homer, but I feel like there's a good chance Rui does the same thing.
It would be great if he did -- it's what we'd all like to see.
But, of course, what Brad Beal did has zero bearing on what Rui does -- as I'm sure you know. Moreover, when Brad had that sudden jump in his 5th season, he was a little bit younger than Rui is right now, entering his 3d year in the league. Moreover, Brad had over 7000 NBA minutes under his belt at the start of that year. Rui is at just over 3300 minutes.
Still, we'll see -- right now the most important thing is that he get his head together.