The OFFICIAL rookie impressions thread pt.III

[Copperhead]

Although I agree Davis playing such few minutes doesnt make much sense but Lillard plays 39 MPG because he is very effective in doing so. Very few rookies would be able to keep up his production given that many minutes of having to dominate the ball.

I said he made the most out of his minutes given didn't I? He was effective in his minutes, not always efficient, but effective nonetheless. One would think as effective as he's been they'd have more than 3 wins than they did thru 66 games last season. He's been very good for the Blazers. ROY indeed.

[NO-KG-AI]

I'm glad he's pulled Davis as much as he has. It doesn't make sense to put a ton of wear on him when we should be trying to stockpile lotto picks.

He's gotten way more than enough time to play and develop. Playing him 35+ minutes consistently is counter productive.

He won't win ROY, but who cares? It'll be better Anthony and the Hornets going forward. He could have played more minutes and padded his stat totals, but it really isn't going to speed up his development.

[Copperhead]

No, I'm not upset at all really. It is what it is though. Monty didn't handle AD the right way this season. It might be better for him and the team in the long run but there are too many Hornets fans asking why so little time on the court for Davis. I don't have a problem with Lillard winning ROY at all. He deserves ROY. He played the most and not only did he play the most, but he made the most out of his minutes. He deserves it no doubt. But some of the stuff Monty Williams comes up with is just mind boggling. The dude even mentioned how he used to get on Chris Paul at times. Chris Paul isn't above coaching but Chris Paul was Chris Paul long before Monty brought his azz to New Orleans.

Monty also coached THAT team to the playoffs in his lone season of having a player like Chris Paul, and gave the Los Angeles Lakers all they could handle in that first round. A team we had no business taking them almost to 7 games

Look, while its definitely frustrating at times this year, but it should be noted that Davis is physically ready to endure the wear and tear of the the post this yr. His injuries should be proof of that. You think that stress fracture happened spontaineously, or that is was accumulated over time? I'd go with the latter. Monty has growing to as a coach, but protecting AD is very understandable. He's really skinny and when I see him against guys like Reggie Evans(who shoved and elbowed ) and other nasty guys, Davis goes down and has to regroup sometime in those games. AD is the franchise, and Monty has made it very clear that he will het stronger in time. You never know how things could turn out. AD could have gotten a worse injury playin thru the full grind this yr(he's had minor injuries all yr). I have no doubt AD will be playin full time in the future. Monty has gud coach potential, but he dosent have the players yet(Doc Rivers was edgin on being a joke b4 he got the BIG 3) There's no end reason to throw Davis to the grind, especially without an enforcer to help him out (Lopez...UGH)

Davis averaging 30-32 mpg isn't throwing him to the grind. 30-32mpg (which is kind of what I thought he should avg this season) for a 19 yr old isn't throwing him to the grind. He needs the experience. Davis can cover a number of positions. If he can't cover the powerful 4's and 5's, let him cover the 3. We'll see how it goes next season. And yeah, Lopez needs to gtfo. Dude wears cement shoes. Can't get up off the floor for s***.

And how does it look like Waynearchetype wrote that post above when it's actually my post? Strange things going on here at RealGM?

Carry on with ya'll's rookie talk. I think this is the most I've ever said in this thread and I see it's ya'll's 3rd thread.

[nin10doe]

I'm glad he's pulled Davis as much as he has. It doesn't make sense to put a ton of wear on him when we should be trying to stockpile lotto picks.

He's gotten way more than enough time to play and develop. Playing him 35+ minutes consistently is counter productive.

He won't win ROY, but who cares? It'll be better Anthony and the Hornets going forward. He could have played more minutes and padded his stat totals, but it really isn't going to speed up his development.

This. Im so tired of all the whining about Davis' minutes.

Put down your XBOX or PS3 controller. You don't play 19 year old kids, built like stick figures, 35+ mpg.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Very few rookies come in and can average 30+ minutes - the conditioning, strength and experience just isn't there. It is what has set Lillard apart from other rookies, not his per minute averages, but his ability to consistently contribute big minutes in a meaningful way. Davis will get there in a year or two when he is closer to Lillards age, nobody should worry, but Monty and the Hornets are doing the right thing by monitoring his minutes and not putting the pressure on him to win ROY. Just because he didn't win ROY doesn't mean he wont be the best player from his class.

[sir G Wallace]

Although I agree Davis playing such few minutes doesnt make much sense but Lillard plays 39 MPG because he is very effective in doing so. Very few rookies would be able to keep up his production given that many minutes of having to dominate the ball.

I said he made the most out of his minutes given didn't I? He was effective in his minutes, not always efficient, but effective nonetheless. One would think as effective as he's been they'd have more than 3 wins than they did thru 66 games last season. He's been very good for the Blazers. ROY indeed.

That is not directly related to his performance. Team wins games and Blazers have had their problems thropughout the roster

[jinishima]

Davis averaging 30-32 mpg isn't throwing him to the grind. 30-32mpg (which is kind of what I thought he should avg this season) for a 19 yr old isn't throwing him to the grind. He needs the experience. Davis can cover a number of positions. If he can't cover the powerful 4's and 5's, let him cover the 3. We'll see how it goes next season. And yeah, Lopez needs to gtfo. Dude wears cement shoes. Can't get up off the floor for s***.

And how does it look like Waynearchetype wrote that post above when it's actually my post? Strange things going on here at RealGM?

Carry on with ya'll's rookie talk. I think this is the most I've ever said in this thread and I see it's ya'll's 3rd thread.

Sorry bout that Copperhead.

But if u feel like Davis wouldve been fine with starter minutes, thats cool. But my takeaway from this season is that at the start of it, he didnt always bring alot of enery(as he seems to to every game now) and would disappear for considerable stretches. Sometimes he looked low on energy(early Houston game def comes to mind) I believe he was a little worn down from all the stuff he did before the season started, and needed some down time. I also believe(tho cant medically deduce) that his stress fracture was related to all of his activity during the summer. So ive just been fine with Monty not given him full minutes for most of the year and NO-AI-KG is rite, he still has improved enough despite not gettin full minutes, not to mention in this stretch hes been playin with the energy I thought hed have from day 1. I think its mostly due to the fact that he didnt have to shoulder full starter minutes. Hes gettin major minutes now in this final stretch tho.

[Copperhead]

Davis averaging 30-32 mpg isn't throwing him to the grind. 30-32mpg (which is kind of what I thought he should avg this season) for a 19 yr old isn't throwing him to the grind. He needs the experience. Davis can cover a number of positions. If he can't cover the powerful 4's and 5's, let him cover the 3. We'll see how it goes next season. And yeah, Lopez needs to gtfo. Dude wears cement shoes. Can't get up off the floor for s***.

And how does it look like Waynearchetype wrote that post above when it's actually my post? Strange things going on here at RealGM?

Carry on with ya'll's rookie talk. I think this is the most I've ever said in this thread and I see it's ya'll's 3rd thread.

I don't know what is for. He might not be able to cover the 3's like Lebron, Durant or Melo but not all 3's are Lebron, Durant or Melo. He's mobile and has good hands and feet. What I'm saying is that if Monty doesn't think he can cover anyone why play him at all? Geez.

ETA: And I'm not one of those fans asking for 35+ mpg but I don't see how 30mpg seems outlandish to some.

[jinishima]

Him goin against James, Melo and Durant barely crosses my mind. Im tryin to figure out how he' wouldve faired guarding Kwhaii, Iggy, Deng, Gerald, Granger, .W Chandler, Gay, Pierce, Kirelenko, Ghilcrist, Butler,... u get the idea.

[NO-KG-AI]

Davis is way more than mobile and fluid enough to guard 3's. Athleticism and effort goes a long way, and his strength won't be a detriment out there.

You take away from his rebounding and help defense if you keep him out on the perimeter, but he's going to be a special defender because he can switch or recover as good as any big.

I wouldn't mind if he played more minutes, but he'll probably finish the season near the 30 minute mark. That's fine, especially given the little nagging injuries he picked up.

[jinishima]

Hmm, makes sense i suppose.

[XtotheDeezy]

I hope people don't use this game to dismiss Lillard. The whole team is playing poorly and the Bucks are hitting shots they shouldn't be hitting. Lillard is still alpha male, slowly taking over the throne that Alridge had claimed with his alpha seed.

[Dame Lizard]

Lillard needs to get more aggressive early. It's quite clear watching Portland's games that their go-plan every game is to go to LMA and Hickson for their buckets early on. It's not rare to see Lillard with only 1 or 2 FGA in the 1st quarter (playing pretty much the entire quarter).

Still finished with 11 assists but his turnovers made it a bad game from him, not just an off-shooting night.

I don't mind his man to man defence, the area I want to see Lillard improve in is defending the passing lanes better. The area I'm most impressed about with Mike Conley is how many steals he gets from intercepts, not just from man to man. Being able to intercept the passing lane for steals is easier than forcing the 1 on 1 steals.

[Wizenheimer]

I hope people don't use this game to dismiss Lillard. The whole team is playing poorly and the Bucks are hitting shots they shouldn't be hitting. Lillard is still alpha male, slowly taking over the throne that Alridge had claimed with his alpha seed.

what should be dismissed is the intelligence of Terry Stotts. He played Lillard 45 minutes tonight, 24 hours after playing him 42 minutes in Philly, and then taking the team to the plane where they sat on the runway for 2 hours before flying from Philly to Milwaukee and arriving around 4 in the morning

that's just too many minutes for any player, but especially for a rookie PG who has the kind of responsibilities Lillard has. It was pretty obvious Lillard's legs were dead in the 2nd half

[orangeparka]

Comn bro, Lillard's just been the better and more consistent rookie this season. Stuff like ROY doesn't matter and AD's gonna be a beast.

[Dame Lizard]

what should be dismissed is the intelligence of Terry Stotts. He played Lillard 45 minutes tonight, 24 hours after playing him 42 minutes in Philly, and then taking the team to the plane where they sat on the runway for 2 hours before flying from Philly to Milwaukee and arriving around 4 in the morning

that's just too many minutes for any player, but especially for a rookie PG who has the kind of responsibilities Lillard has. It was pretty obvious Lillard's legs were dead in the 2nd half

Whatttttt, I knew he played alot but didn't realize it was that much. 45 minutes in a non-overtime game is just nuts, let alone for a rookie in back-to-back games.

I'm glad we lost that game, hopefully we can lose a couple more so that this "let's play LMA, Lillard and our other starters for 40+ mins per game as there is a 10% chance we make playoffs and get knocked out in round 1" nonsense.

Time for the coaching staff to conceede that Portland aren't making the playoffs, and if this is a rebuilding year we should be aiming to get our #12 pick (#13 and above goes to Charlotte) whilst reducing the chances of injurying our starters.

[nin10doe]

Davis caught the flu bug thats been going around the league but decided play with it tonight and had the game winning tip in.

Overall decent game considering he was sick
28 mins
9 pts
8 rebs
2 blks

[Hendrix]

Nice game from J Val tonight.

18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blks, 2stls, 1tov, 6-11, 6-6, 31 miniutes

[Inevitable]

Nice game from J Val tonight.

18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blks, 2stls, 1tov, 6-11, 6-6, 31 miniutes

The only bright spot tonight, I think JV in his prime can average a line similar to that.

[Blkbrd671]

Nice game from J Val tonight.

18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blks, 2stls, 1tov, 6-11, 6-6, 31 miniutes

kid reminds me so much of a younger athletic gasol