Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 16, 2024 8:30 pm
By the way, I didn’t know Dilly was a poor finisher at the rim in college until after we drafted him. I probably would have rated him below McCain and Carter if I had known that. Poor finishing at the rim for a guard in college is a yellow cautionary flag for me unless the prospect is expected to be a 3 & D guy. If you’re drafting a guard in the top 10 you want his offensive game to be complete with both dribble penetration scoring and outside shooting. Ideally, you want him to also be a two-way player. It was a bit risky using the #8 pick to take a guy who lacked two of these three in college - scoring at the rim and defense. On the other hand, one year of college at age 18-19 merits a lot of leeway for development when you’re talking about a player with Dilly’s quickness, ball-handling skills and outside shooting ability. So there’s no cause to panic. At this point, I just think he needs to get used to the speed of the NBA game, gain some confidence and put on 15 pounds of muscle. He’s highly competitive so I’m still excited to see what he becomes over the next few years. In the meantime, what are we going to do about backup PG next season?
How did you watch Reed Sheppard in college but not Dillingham? This was a bad draft. The top picks are flawed. Yes, that means Reed Sheppard too. Reed happens to also be a backup on a team that can mask his weaknesses well. This is the #1 defense in the league. They have to be able to handle players who aren't as good there if they can add offensively to a team who has trouble there. The ideal PG a) wasn't in this draft, b) woulda went first without question if he was and c) wasn't in next year's draft where we don't have a pick anyway.
Rob Dillingham will be the backup PG next season and the team should be fine with that, ESPECIALLY given the options they were faced with. I'm glad they addressed it at all because if Dillingham doesn't pan out, Connelly/Finch will do what I feared they'd do anyway which is pretend Ant can run an offense.
First possession of the 4th Nix forces a terribly awkward shot up against their shot-blocking big and somehow gets it to go in. God I hate his offensive game even when it works out.
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 16, 2024 8:30 pm
By the way, I didn’t know Dilly was a poor finisher at the rim in college until after we drafted him. I probably would have rated him below McCain and Carter if I had known that. Poor finishing at the rim for a guard in college is a yellow cautionary flag for me unless the prospect is expected to be a 3 & D guy. If you’re drafting a guard in the top 10 you want his offensive game to be complete with both dribble penetration scoring and outside shooting. Ideally, you want him to also be a two-way player. It was a bit risky using the #8 pick to take a guy who lacked two of these three in college - scoring at the rim and defense. On the other hand, one year of college at age 18-19 merits a lot of leeway for development when you’re talking about a player with Dilly’s quickness, ball-handling skills and outside shooting ability. So there’s no cause to panic. At this point, I just think he needs to get used to the speed of the NBA game, gain some confidence and put on 15 pounds of muscle. He’s highly competitive so I’m still excited to see what he becomes over the next few years. In the meantime, what are we going to do about backup PG next season?
How did you watch Reed Sheppard in college but not Dillingham? This was a bad draft. The top picks are flawed. Yes, that means Reed Sheppard too. Reed happens to also be a backup on a team that can mask his weaknesses well. This is the #1 defense in the league. They have to be able to handle players who aren't as good there if they can add offensively to a team who has trouble there. The ideal PG a) wasn't in this draft, b) woulda went first without question if he was and c) wasn't in next year's draft where we don't have a pick anyway.
Rob Dillingham will be the backup PG next season and the team should be fine with that, ESPECIALLY given the options they were faced with. I'm glad they addressed it at all because if Dillingham doesn't pan out, Connelly/Finch will do what I feared they'd do anyway which is pretend Ant can run an offense.
I didn’t watch either one more than the other in college. Like the rest of us, I looked at videos, stats and expert analysis. And I’ve watched both in summer league. Reed was a consensus top 4 pick who ended up going 3rd. Rob was ranked generally from 7 all the way down into the teens. He ended up going 8th to us. Reed had phenomenal shooting percentages - over 50% from the floor and over 50% from behind the arc. He averaged an impressive 2.5 steals per game and he’s 15 pounds heavier. So my more favorable impression of Reed compared to Rob is pretty well supported to say the least, but it is after all just a judgment call.
By the way, Reed is flawless. Didn’t you know that? Seriously, of course all players have flaws. But it just so happens some are flawed players are better than others. Some have more or deeper flaws while others have more pluses that outweighs their flaws. I’m high on both Reed and Rob long term. But I’m higher on Reed, which appears to align with the vast majority of front office execs and basketball analysts. To be clear, I’m not particularly concerned about Rob long term. I just don’t think he’s read to be a #2 PG on an NBA team competing for a championship. If he still has trouble finishing at the rim and gets beat often on the defensive end two years from now, then I’ll start to be concerned about him long term.
Seriously, of course all players have flaws. But it just so happens some are flawed players are better than others. Some have more or deeper flaws while others have more pluses that outweighs their flaws. I’m high on both Reed and Rob long term. But I’m higher on Reed, which appears to align with the vast majority of front office execs and basketball analysts. To be clear, I’m not particularly concerned about Rob long term. I just don’t think he’s read to be a #2 PG on an NBA team competing for a championship. If he still has trouble finishing at the rim and gets beat often on the defensive end two years from now, then I’ll start to be concerned about him long term.