Minnesota Sports Forum

https://twitter.com/jwquick/status/847977870722871296

Blazers announce Jusuf Nurkic has a non-displaced fibular fracture in his right leg. Sidelined two weeks, then be re-evaluated.

Anybody been paying attention to the strides Thon Maker has been "making" for the Bucks? Whooaa, the Bucks look like they found another one. He's been very impressive as of late.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Anybody been paying attention to the strides Thon Maker has been "making" for the Bucks? Whooaa, the Bucks look like they found another one. He's been very impressive as of late.

Yep, I've noticed, Cool. Credit the Bucks' front office for another savvy draft decision. Then of course, there's Giannis. Another freaky performance from him today against the Heat with 31 points, 15 boards, 9 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Just imagine if Flip had drafted him instead of Bazz. Think about a lineup that has Giannis playing with Wiggins, Towns and Rubio. Another painful "what if" in the life of this Wolves franchise. And it's not just hindsight. I wanted to keep the pick and take McCollum. But once we traded down, I was among many on this message board who would have taken Giannis.

By the way, I didn't think Giannis would be THIS good. So I'm not trying to lay claim to any special credit. But there's a reason he had already earned the Greek Freak moniker back then and it wasn't just his time spent in Greece. He also had a reputation as a relentless worker with competitive spirit and high basketball IQ. I don't think Maker is as talented as Giannis, but he looks like he's going to be very very good. Just for the record, I would not have taken Maker over Dunn. So I'm no basketball genius - as if you didn't already know. :)

I've heard some hype about Maker but I don't know what he has done to drum it up. He stats don't tell the story. Anyone have any observations?

There were a few people on this board interested in trading down and looking at someone like Maker. I think ultimately in Dunn we got a great character guy who's going to do whatever it takes to fill in the blanks in his role. I'm actually quite excited about how he's progressed and think he's going to be a big part of this team for a long time.

thedoper wrote:There were a few people on this board interested in trading down and looking at someone like Maker. I think ultimately in Dunn we got a great character guy who's going to do whatever it takes to fill in the blanks in his role. I'm actually quite excited about how he's progressed and think he's going to be a big part of this team for a long time.

Yup, I'm a huge Dunn fan. I never bought the "he will replace Rubio in 20 games - just you watch" talk that Duke was peddling. But I just thought he brought the defensive chops and toughness this team needed, whether it was as a PG or combo guard. Guys can and do improve on offense. But it's tough to teach a poodle to be a bulldog and Dunn is going to be a helluva bulldog.

monsterpile wrote:I've heard some hype about Maker but I don't know what he has done to drum it up. He stats don't tell the story. Anyone have any observations?

I think it's a couple of things.

(1) Giannis trendsetter. Milwaukee already found a guy like him previously.
(2) In an SI article, Giannis is on record claiming Maker is going to be great and is a better shooter than him already.
(3) He's starting now (very low minutes though) and the Bucks are winning.
(4) He had a 9 - 12 fg (23 points) game with 4 three pointers recently. Overall though, he's only a nominal starter and the stats are meh.

I think it's well known by now that he's older than originally claimed.

I was shocked at where they picked him. I thought he was an interesting talent, but would go much later. If he breaks out I would say his success is as much coaching as it is scouting. They seem to be able to develop talent.

bleedspeed177 wrote:I was shocked at where they picked him. I thought he was an interesting talent, but would go much later. If he breaks out I would say his success is as much coaching as it is scouting. They seem to be able to develop talent.

I think it's a combination, Bleed. But in the end it's mainly the player's talent (both physical and mental) along with the player's work ethic and competitive drive to get better. Giannis would have developed into the player's he's become with any team that gave him the playing time to develop.