Wiseman and Edwards

[FNG]

This will be a good talker throughout the season, I think. I didn't see the game last night, but it appears my clear choice for the #1 pick (absent a deal to trade down) had a poor night and looked lost. I'm not surprised or worried as it was his first game. It will be fun to compare these two top draft picks as the season progresses.

My position remains the same. We knew who Edwards was coming into the draft because we had so much video of him against D1 competition. We knew he was a superb athlete with a good handle (actually had to play the point much of the season) with questionable shot selection and erratic defense. A vote for Edwards was based on a belief that he would be a totally different offensive player as a 3rd or 4th option and a true PG, and that his marvelous athletic and physical gifts could translate into becoming a plus defender. I'm still confident he can live up to that optimistic belief.

Wiseman on the other hand was a huge unknown. We really only had evidence of him playing against real competition in the Oregon game, and while a good team, they didn't have anywhere near the size of an NBA team (Oregon's tallest player was 6'9", and he has averaged 3 PPG in his career). He was pretty good offensively and on the boards in the Oregon game (14-12), but quite unimpressive on defense if you watched the game- most notably only one block for a guy who was touted as an elite rim protector. What we mostly saw pre-draft was video of an athletic 7-footer dunking and swatting away shots of high school and D2 players often 6 or 7 inches shorter than him. A lot of us on this board could be quite dominating against a guy 7 inches shorter than us! While I was intrigued by his potential, not having enough video of him against real competition was a solid reason to not spend a first pick on him, and I suspect Rosas (and most NBA pundits) shared that view.

All that said, Edwards vs. Wiseman will be fun to analyze this season and in seasons to come, so thanks to PorkChop for initiating this thread- I suspect it will be a long one! As a Wolves fan and Warriors hater, I really hope Edwards prevails. Time will tell.

Results to date:

Edwards: 5 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in his first game

Wiseman: Out with Covid, and not expected to play in the Warriors' 3 preseason games.

[FNG]

D'Angelo Russell on Anthony Edwards: "I like his game. He doesn't force it. He's trying to make the right play out there. He's getting to his spots. He wasn't making shots and that's an adjustment but he's got some flavor to him."

[Monster]

Below is a clip from the highlights of Edwards last night.

https://youtu.be/1AzGgxYFg6o

A 2-6 shooting performance included a heave and an end of the quarter shot.

[AbeVigodaLive]

OK. I wasn't gonna mention it. But it's still nagging at me. So at the risk of compromising my self-proclaimed pragmatism and level-headedness... I'm going to mention it without trying to draw conclusions...

At one point in the 2nd half, Edwards went into the lane and was blocked.

10 - 15 seconds later, he had the ball back with a full head of steam with only one man to beat... I'm almost positive it was the guy who just blocked his shot... Edwards pulled off and didn't even attempt a move. He stopped and waited to set up the halfcourt offense instead of using his god-given talent to try to challenge/avenge the guy who just blocked him one-on-one.

I cringed. A little.

[FNG]

OK. I wasn't gonna mention it. But it's still nagging at me. So at the risk of compromising my self-proclaimed pragmatism and level-headedness... I'm going to mention it without trying to draw conclusions...

At one point in the 2nd half, Edwards went into the lane and was blocked.

10 - 15 seconds later, he had the ball back with a full head of steam with only one man to beat... I'm almost positive it was the guy who just blocked his shot... Edwards pulled off and didn't even attempt a move. He stopped and waited to set up the halfcourt offense instead of using his god-given talent to try to challenge/avenge the guy who just blocked him one-on-one.

I cringed. A little.

Ouch...thx for the report on a game I didn't see. Decision-making is going to be the key to whether AE becomes a star or an after-thought. The optimist in me goes back to that 20-minute video where Edwards is analyzing one of his games play-by-play where he does some things really well and some things really poorly. But all the way through the video he seems to not be defensive about his mistakes, and seems to be eager to talk about what he could have done better on the play. So he just might be coachable and able to learn from mistakes in judgment like the two Abe pointed out. If he learns and changes, he likely will be great. But if not, the Wisemaniacs will prove to be correct in their assessment that he should have been our pick.

[Monster]

Oops posted in the wrong thread

Postgame media availability with Saunders Russell Nowell and Rubio. Know there is dead spots between each one so it's not 28 mins long if you fast forward etc.

https://youtu.be/GJTOfjRW8l0

[AbeVigodaLive]

OK. I wasn't gonna mention it. But it's still nagging at me. So at the risk of compromising my self-proclaimed pragmatism and level-headedness... I'm going to mention it without trying to draw conclusions...

At one point in the 2nd half, Edwards went into the lane and was blocked.

10 - 15 seconds later, he had the ball back with a full head of steam with only one man to beat... I'm almost positive it was the guy who just blocked his shot... Edwards pulled off and didn't even attempt a move. He stopped and waited to set up the halfcourt offense instead of using his god-given talent to try to challenge/avenge the guy who just blocked him one-on-one.

I cringed. A little.

Ouch...thx for the report on a game I didn't see. Decision-making is going to be the key to whether AE becomes a star or an after-thought. The optimist in me goes back to that 20-minute video where Edwards is analyzing one of his games play-by-play where he does some things really well and some things really poorly. But all the way through the video he seems to not be defensive about his mistakes, and seems to be eager to talk about what he could have done better on the play. So he just might be coachable and able to learn from mistakes in judgment like the two Abe pointed out. If he learns and changes, he likely will be great. But if not, the Wisemaniacs will prove to be correct in their assessment that he should have been our pick.

To be fair, I'm not taking about judgement. I don't even think he made an error when getting his shot blocked. It's no big deal. Keep attacking... which brings us to...

The cringeworthy part was something more intangible that we've seen from others over the years. I'd like to see Edwards take on that very specific challenge the next time he encounters it in his young NBA career.

Edwards is a physical specimen. Those guys can excel when they pair it with a relentless attacking style and mentality.

[Lipoli390]

OK. I wasn't gonna mention it. But it's still nagging at me. So at the risk of compromising my self-proclaimed pragmatism and level-headedness... I'm going to mention it without trying to draw conclusions...

At one point in the 2nd half, Edwards went into the lane and was blocked.

10 - 15 seconds later, he had the ball back with a full head of steam with only one man to beat... I'm almost positive it was the guy who just blocked his shot... Edwards pulled off and didn't even attempt a move. He stopped and waited to set up the halfcourt offense instead of using his god-given talent to try to challenge/avenge the guy who just blocked him one-on-one.

I cringed. A little.

Ouch...thx for the report on a game I didn't see. Decision-making is going to be the key to whether AE becomes a star or an after-thought. The optimist in me goes back to that 20-minute video where Edwards is analyzing one of his games play-by-play where he does some things really well and some things really poorly. But all the way through the video he seems to not be defensive about his mistakes, and seems to be eager to talk about what he could have done better on the play. So he just might be coachable and able to learn from mistakes in judgment like the two Abe pointed out. If he learns and changes, he likely will be great. But if not, the Wisemaniacs will prove to be correct in their assessment that he should have been our pick.

To be fair, I'm not taking about judgement. I don't even think he made an error when getting his shot blocked. It's no big deal. Keep attacking... which brings us to...

The cringeworthy part was something more intangible that we've seen from others over the years. I'd like to see Edwards take on that very specific challenge the next time he encounters it in his young NBA career.

Edwards is a physical specimen. Those guys can excel when they pair it with a relentless attacking style and mentality.

That play made me cringe also, Abe. That moment was emblematic of Edwards' college career where his ratio of jump shots to shots at the rim was way out of alignment with his physical skills. To me, it signals that he lacks that attack mentality or relentless competitiveness so essentially to being a great NBA player. He's young and it's early. But it was troubling to see, especially since it's consistent with his reputation and they way he played in college.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Wait, you guys didn't enjoy the contested pull-up jumpers? That's weird.

[Lipoli390]

Wait, you guys didn't enjoy the contested pull-up jumpers? That's weird.

Lol. Cam - You're the best at capturing the essence of things with a single sarcastic sentence. :)