(Bucks fan here)What should we expect from Gary Neal?

[Bango]

I enjoyed watching Gary Neal light it up for a game or two in the finals, but would've never in a million years expected to see my lowly Bucks throw him a bone of a contract. I like the guy, but don't want to get too excited. Someone bring me back to earth? What am I in store for this year while watching the guy?

[wenzi]

A BOMB

[NBA4u]

honestly, we don;t really know becuase he will def be in more of a scoring role then in SA.

in SA he was the scorer off the bench but in MIl I assume he will be a top 2-3 option maybe. if he can stay efficient, he ll be real solid. however, if he cant be efficient, he will be kinda like a jr type player with more effort but not as productive scoring.

its all about his efficiency. in SA he didnt have much of a load on him

[franktony]

I enjoyed watching Gary Neal light it up for a game or two in the finals, but would've never in a million years expected to see my lowly Bucks throw him a bone of a contract. I like the guy, but don't want to get too excited. Someone bring me back to earth? What am I in store for this year while watching the guy?

He is a damn good shooter, especially from deep. He can catch and shoot and shoot off the dribble. His % took a hit last season because of injuries. When healthy, he is a 40% 3-pointer easily. And he has the clutch gene. Not afraid to shoot in big moments at all.

The cons : He is an atrocious defender. He can't defend PGs or SGs well. Too slow to defend PGs and too small and nonathletic to defend SGs. His ball-handling skills are bad and that's why it's a bad idea to play him as a PG.

And his contract is not that bad. A lot of pure shooters that can't defend a chair got way more money than him (Novak, Korver, Miller).

I think Bucks fans will be happy with him as a backup SG.

[Nolan]

He's a great shooter both standing still and off the dribble, he's got a knack for making big shots, and he can handle the ball a bit but you really can't count on him to play PG or to create. Defensively he's not the greatest; he's gets lost a lot and he's not quick enough to guard PG and not big enough to guard SG/SF's.

Overall I think he's a great pickup for the Bucks at a pretty good price.

[Bango]

kind of what i thought to expect with the signing. good shooter, but a horrid defender. thanks for the replies guys.

[Donald Kaufman]

Great shooter obviously but if he makes his first one then it can be a blessing or a curse, because he'll keep shooting no matter what happens. That was one of the things that screwed us in the Finals. He had one game where he went off, so he spent the rest of the series shooting like he was still on fire. That's a shooter's mentality I guess, to shoot your way out of it, but it certainly didn't help the team aside from in Game 3.

He can't handle the rock at all. I cringe every time he dribbles. He's improved since his rookie year but he's still not good. His D is average. The effort's there, he's just not athletic enough to guard points nor big enough to guard 2s.

The best thing about him though, to me at least, is his range. He can hit from practically anywhere on the court. He's a threat once he gets past the halfcourt line.

[co_laper]

I enjoyed watching Gary Neal light it up for a game or two in the finals, but would've never in a million years expected to see my lowly Bucks throw him a bone of a contract. I like the guy, but don't want to get too excited. Someone bring me back to earth? What am I in store for this year while watching the guy?

As been stated, he's a great shooter. Gary has 3 point range, seems automatic from the midrange, and has a floater in his game. He's not exacty a player that relishes contact and gets to the FT line though. You won't see that much.

The problem with his shooting ability here is his shot selection. He's such a great shooter that he thinks he can take and make every freaking shot. When Gary gets a shot created for him from Parker/Manu, he'll hit it most of the time. Especially when he can pump fake, dribble once inside the arc, and pull up. That's also automatic. As a spot up shooter, Gary is great.

When he tries to create, please kill me. There are games where he goes hot. Takes every possible bad shots you can imagine and hits it, but that doesn't happen nearly enough to justify his shot selection.

Another thing, I don't mind his ballhandling. I think it's adequate. He's not a full time PG, he's a shooting guard. And he can bring the ball up without turning the ball over all the time. His biggest problem in this regard is his playmaking ability. Meaning, he can't pass. He can't create for others. He lacks courtvision. Everything a PG is supposed to do, he cannot. And unfortunately, he was thrust into that role 2 years ago after TJ Ford got injured. He's not a PG, and never will be.

And about his passing, he's got this knack of passing the ball after going up in the air. A lot of times, that ends up in a turnover. You can't leave your feet and then pass.

Defense, well he was a backup. And I don't really recall Gary getting scored like crazy by anybody. Though you're not going to mistake him as a good defensive player, I thought he was okay enough for his role here. But that could be a glaring weakness in Milwaukee if he is to start.

Anyways, I think you'll be seeing a lot of shots being put up by Neal. And with Brandon Knight (not a pure PG) next to him, my guess is that Neal will be creating a lot of shots for himself instead of having others creating for him.

If he actually manage to keep the starting SG spot, I think you might see a high points per game production. Perhaps 16 points a game. But that's gonna come from a low percentage shooting. Like 41% FG, 35% 3PT. Looks won't be as easy. He's not gonna get many rebounds. If he gets 36 minutes a game, I imagine he gets like 3 rebounds a game. Not an assist guy either, so perhaps another 2 or 3 assists. No chances for steals or blocks.

I can't imagine him winning and keeping the starting SG position. Most likely, he'll be a scorer off the bench or won't get minutes at all once it's all said and done.

EDIT: I forgot OJ Mayo is a Buck