Minnesota Sports Forum

Camden wrote:Zach LaVine's 11 games in 2015-16 as a starter:

18.8 PPG (46.3 FG%, 44.6 3P%, 82.9 FT%), 4.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.3 3PM per game in 32.2 MPG.

Impressive. Boy, does his outside shooting help. I love it when he catches and shoots in the corner. No dribbling into the defender for a contested pullup - just catch and let 'er fly. That's the beauty of playing off the ball.

(we'll ignore his defense for now)

Q12543 wrote:

Camden wrote:Zach LaVine's 11 games in 2015-16 as a starter:

18.8 PPG (46.3 FG%, 44.6 3P%, 82.9 FT%), 4.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.3 3PM per game in 32.2 MPG.

Impressive. Boy, does his outside shooting help. I love it when he catches and shoots in the corner. No dribbling into the defender for a contested pullup - just catch and let 'er fly. That's the beauty of playing off the ball.

(we'll ignore his defense for now)

How do you feel about when he gets a catch-and-shoot opportunity above the elbow and he takes one dribble to shoot a 22 footer?



[Note: I'm 91.6% certain this will be corrected with the new coach next season.]

Camden wrote:I think if he bulks up some as he gets older (200-210 lbs would be ideal; he's around 190 lbs now) and adds more strength to his game, while working on his on-court skills, he could have a ceiling of Vince Carter. There just haven't been many guys with the combo of skills that he has: elite athleticism, jumper and handle. He's in rare company with his skill set.

Carter came into the league as a 22-year old and practically set the league on fire. If all goes right, LaVine will too at roughly the same age.

Cam - I agree with you completely on Zach's rare combo skill set. I'll add a little more detail on your reference to Zach's elite athleticism. People often talk about athleticism in reference to a player's leaping ability and, not surprisingly, that tends to be a focus when talking about Zach given his incredible hops and prowess in the slam dunk competition. But another aspect of athleticism is speed, which doesn't always go hand in hand with hops.

Zach's straight line speed/acceleration is as off the charts as his vertical. And he has that speed with the ball. His speed with the ball actually sets him apart from Vince Carter, although I don't think he'll ever be as strong as Vince. And if you recall the draft combine, Zach had the best or second best score in the agility test, measuring lateral quickness. Then there's his shooting and, more recently, some really nice passing skills.

A long way of saying, this guy is loaded with talent. And now that he's playing his natural position, he's putting up numbers that are beginning to reflect that talent. Then to think he's only 20 years old with only one year of limited minutes in college. Add to that his reputation as a gym rat. Hard not to get excited about Zach.

Me like Zach.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

Camden wrote:Zach LaVine's 11 games in 2015-16 as a starter:

18.8 PPG (46.3 FG%, 44.6 3P%, 82.9 FT%), 4.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.3 3PM per game in 32.2 MPG.

Impressive. Boy, does his outside shooting help. I love it when he catches and shoots in the corner. No dribbling into the defender for a contested pullup - just catch and let 'er fly. That's the beauty of playing off the ball.

(we'll ignore his defense for now)

How do you feel about when he gets a catch-and-shoot opportunity above the elbow and he takes one dribble to shoot a 22 footer?



[Note: I'm 91.6% certain this will be corrected with the new coach next season.]

Part of that may be something that Sam has mentioned numerous times how he wants Lavine to catch the ball in the triple threat position but Lavine tends to get the ball and dribble it first which gets him into various troubling scenarios including the one you mentioned. Since hearing Sam mention that I have watched for that and it does SEEM to be something he has improved on but I haven't got a nifty stat like 3T/DRIB to back it up.