Best 2020-21 NBA Rookie

[AbeVigodaLive]

Here's an excerpt from Hollinger (The Athletic) on Edwards... sans embedded clips. Nothing revolutionary or novel, but still probably worth reading.

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"The top overall pick in the draft has been mostly as advertised during his first few weeks in the NBA. He's provided occasional scoring outbursts, averaging 13.6 points per game, and wowed at times with the combination of strength and athleticism that makes him a major finishing threat around the rim.

Check out this play, for instance, where he slaloms through San Antonio's defense on a double drag in transition, brings the ball under Rudy Gay's swiping arms and then, most notably, shrugs off a high-level rim protector in Jakob Poeltl and explodes upward to make his right-hand finish look much easier than it actually was.

Right now, alas, it is not. He is still too content too often to settle for a jumper after a quick crosser, and his jumper is not yet consistent enough o warrant the difficultly of shots he takes from deep. Edwards has made 27.6 percent of his 3s, which is consistent with what he shot in his lone season at Georgia, and just 47.4 percent inside the arc -- mostly because he's been so bad on non-rim 2s.

Additionally, he has been amazingly unable to use his physique and athleticism to any meaningful impact beyond scoring at the rim. Despite being built like an NFL strong safety and possessing explosive leaping ability, Edwards has a rebound rate that is a pathetic 6.1 percent. His rates of blocks and steals are nearly as poor, and in this case, magnified by a general lack of defensive awareness. Offensively, his strength and power should make him a free-throw machine, but that hasn't happened either: His rate of .157 free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt is the worst on the team.

All those factors contribute to why his PER stands at a meager 9.6 despite superficially good scoring numbers. But viscerally, the most notable thing about Edwards is how often he just stands there. It's rare to see a player whose motor can run this cold, and it's the one thing that gives T'wolves fans in particular heebie-jeebies about a Wiggins 2.0.

Look at this play, for instance, where Edwards has a wide-open 3 in the corner if he ever takes his feet out of the cement. The play starts with Ricky Rubio motioning for Edwards to cut to the far corner. He stays still. As Jordan McLaughlin drives baseline, it's clear that Edwards' best move is to cut to the corner -- the "baseline drive, baseline drift" rule that is basically embedded in any perimeter players' head.

Edwards doesn't do that. He just chills in the same spot, while McLaughlin's pass for what should be a wide-open 3 drifts harmlessly out of bounds. Plays like that are why he's still coming off the bench for a Minnesota team that doesn't have much margin for error, and probably will be for a while.

Again, these were knowns coming into the draft -- the question is to what extent Edwards can overcome these weaknesses over the course of his rookie contract. For now, he's a gifted but mostly empty-calories scorer whose struggles mirror those of his team. The interesting part of the story is his pathway to moving beyond that."

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Yup, seems spot-on Abe. I wasn't a fan of this pick and rarely do we see players change their general make-up, especially in the "do shit" categories. In other words, he better turn into a top notch scorer and playmaker, because I don't see him impacting the game much otherwise.

[Wolvesfan21]

He's shown some Wiggins tendencies to be lazy for sure, but is superior to Wiggins already with his handle BY FAR, finishing with strength and contact at the rim, vision and distribution has been impressive as well at times.

Basically is comes down to, I see him as a little larger, stronger more athletic Dwayne Wade/James Harden hybrid "potential", will he focus and play hard enough to reach that potential is the biggest question. Will his shot come around to reach that potential as well.

[FloriDuh [enjin:13427829]]

I am still waiting for this seasons highly anticipated, blockbuster movie release of "Bully Ball" starring Antman.

I mean, all pre-draft we hear about Antman's frame and explosiveness. I thought we'd already see scenes of characters bouncing off of Antman while he freight trains it to the hoop NBA Jam style.

The only movie I have seen this season is "Noodle Ball," which could have starred Christian Bale in The Machinist. Quite frankly, this movie, which I thought would be a Dud (with a Capital D), is turning out to be this seasons smash hit.