- Decision making
- Not a true point guard
- Shot-selection
- Stuck between 1 and 2
- Older than class peers
- Poor passer
- Ability to finish around basket
- Undersized

How can the Knick's back up point guard have weaknesses such as poor decision making, poor passer, and questionable ability to finish under the basket?

Is Draft Express wrong, or are D'Antoni and Walsh wrong? My bet is that the poor decision making/passing comment relates to the fact that Toney Dougas didn't see his key role as distributing the ball. As the best player on his team, his best chance to win was frequently setting himself up, instead of generating a lot of assists. His assists per game were abnormally low for a point guard as a result, and his turnovers per game appeared too high. But Toney is not a selfish player, and imo the fact that he didn't generate a lot of assists as a senior in college, doesn't mean he can't generate alot of assists efficiently for the Knicks.

After you watch Toney play this evening, let me know if you think he is a poor passer or a poor decision maker as suggested by Draft Express?

There's a reason why he was the 29th pick.

he also had a major lack of talent at FSU, esp polished big men

when you watch those clips you have to consider what his role on his team was. He was the leading scorer and shot taker. The offense was build around getting him as many looks as possible.

What you have to like about him is he can score from anywhere, he's very fast and strong and was the defensive player of the year in his conference. Lets see what kind of NBA player he is.

As for there being a reason he was picked 29 its the same reason someone like Jameer Nelson fell as far as he did. Height and age. Many teams would rather swing and miss on a 19 year old unskilled kid cause he can run and jump out of the gym than take a polished player because he doesnt fit the mold of NBA star.

I really think Douglas has the stuff to be the next John Starks for us. A tough two player that gets after guys and makes things happen. DW and MDA both feel he can backup Duhon for significant minutes and are counting on him to do that right out of the box.

I think Sessions would be an outstanding lead guard w/ Douglas backing him up.

I don't think unloading Duhon would be difficult. Something like:

Duhon, Mobley, Chandler

for

Boozer, Miles

then Utah uses the "saved" $$ to match Millsap

Posted by fishmike:

when you watch those clips you have to consider what his role on his team was. He was the leading scorer and shot taker. The offense was build around getting him as many looks as possible.

What you have to like about him is he can score from anywhere, he's very fast and strong and was the defensive player of the year in his conference. Lets see what kind of NBA player he is.

As for there being a reason he was picked 29 its the same reason someone like Jameer Nelson fell as far as he did. Height and age. Many teams would rather swing and miss on a 19 year old unskilled kid cause he can run and jump out of the gym than take a polished player because he doesnt fit the mold of NBA star.

I really think Douglas has the stuff to be the next John Starks for us. A tough two player that gets after guys and makes things happen. DW and MDA both feel he can backup Duhon for significant minutes and are counting on him to do that right out of the box.

I know that it depends on the particular team- but I sometimes wonder if taking a 21-23 yr. old 3-4 yr. college player might make more sense given the economic realities of the sport. What if it takes a few years for a 19 yr. old kid to develop, and then you face the prospect of him signing with another team? What if only half of his years with you are productive before he leaves?

I could see this being very true for a bad team that does not improve enough by the time their 24-25 yr. old stud, picked at age 19, but only just coming around as a complete player by the time he is able to go to another team.

It will be interesting to follow this year's N. Carolina crop and watch how they help their respective teams. Two juniors and two seniors. Will they give their teams more immediate contributions than some of the other younger players drafted?

I would like to see the average number of years a successful player stays with their original team, and if there is any correlation between how consistently poor a lottery team's record is, and how long a successful lottery pick stays on their original team.

Just a thought.

Posted by rvwink:

- Decision making
- Not a true point guard
- Shot-selection
- Stuck between 1 and 2
- Older than class peers
- Poor passer
- Ability to finish around basket
- Undersized

Other than that, he's awesome!

He's going to be tested right away today. While Marcus might not have the quickness he has the size and if he gets past the first level of defense--the Grizzlies packed the lane like no other SL I have seen yet. So the first game should be a fine and reasonable test. Im hoping that Hill can give me 16-9 and Douglas 13-3-5. Thats what I expect--thats my goal for these guys in this rookie league.

Also the Knicks managemnet should keep a keen eye on Williams and they shouldve watched video of his last game 5 times already. He had his head up moving the ball quickly up court and dissected the other team like Jason Kidd making precision passes and high IQ play. And he did this below the rim.

[Edited by - BRIGGS on 07-14-2009 2:41 PM]

Posted by Paladin55:

Posted by BRIGGS:

He's going to be tested right away today. While Marcus might not have the quickness he has the size and if he gets past the first level of defense--the Grizzlies packed the lane like no other SL I have seen yet. So the first game should be a fine and reasonable test. Im hoping that Hill can give me 16-9 and Douglas 13-3-5. Thats what I expect--thats my goal for these guys in this rookie league.

I will be surprised, but quite happy, if Hill can put up those numbers day one. From what has been reported from their practices, Hill seems a little raw at this point. Maybe he does better in an actual game, but I think it will take a bit before he gets into the flow of things and does the offensive things he will eventually be able to do as his game matures. I want to see some rebounding and D from him more than anything else at this point.

A lot of the older college players seem to be able to replicate their numbers from college in this league this year. So I think Hill should be in that range or close to it. Blake Griffin looked like the same superstar he was in Oklahoma--not a scintilla of difference. I think he may have a great chance because hes playing with the Clippers to not only make a W_L impact for them but he could possibly be an all star in year 1. So a good sign is if Hill can atleast come close to duplicating his output from AZ given 30 minutes. Thats what I want him to hit--something close.

Posted by purple012870:

Marcus has DLeague athletic ability & an even lower level work ethic (pls he can't shoot)

no defense either.