N8isScofield wrote:BowlRips wrote:N8isScofield wrote:RJ makes me uncomfortable for the simple fact that he's far too content to disappear for entire quarters or halves. I really want him to pan out but there's something very disconcerting about a guy who is clearly supposed to be the second option continually deferring like he's the 6th. We see tiny flashes of a dog in him where he's had some big quarters or halves but he very rarely puts together 4 quarters of good, assertive basketball and even at his young age it's concerning from a mentality standpoint.
People have described and analyzed RJ in many ways, but one thing I have not heard is that he is "content" and have questions about his "mentality".
Is he going to be a bonifide all-star? He is still a flawed prospect? Whats his true ceiling? These are legitimate qualms. His mentality is not one of them.
You seem to confuse mentality with work ethic and maturity. He's a great kid and I want him to work out. I have no questions about his character or willingness to work hard. That doesn't change the fact that he can be extremely passive and disappear for long stretches. You want all that hard work to translate into a more consistently assertive and aggressive mindset on the court. There's literally nothing to get your panties in a wad about in that observation.
I don't even think it's passivity. He clearly has the work ethic to improve... He worked on his spot up outside shooting. He's now very effective with that, especially from the corner.
He's just so limited in terms of speed and athleticism. He plays a position that is all about foot speed, agility, and explosiveness in the modern NBA... and his drives, getting to his spots, it just all looks so painfully slow.
The only way to compensate for the physical limitations would be if he had Luka/Harden level skill and craftiness, but he doesn't and I don't see how a player develops that through hard work. Those guys are just unique basketball minds and talents.
He's a serviceable starter/role player, and the sooner the fanbase, media and FO resign themselves to that, the better.
Although as a Knicks fan I partially hope my rational self is completely wrong on this lol.