fishmike wrote:Juliano wrote:Mitchell with another show, the lad has perenial all-star written all over him. Goes on to show nothing is set in stone with drafts picks, personality is more important than raw physical ability and on that respect Frank has everything going for him. It's probably going to take him longer than Mitchell but I feel he's going to quietly improve to stardom in his own quiet way. Right now he's focused on learning the pace, doing what the coach tells him to, not being a liability for the team. Defense is the basement of his game and he's building on it, he'll add pieces and bits along the way. If his games against his peers at the Euro U18 are anything to go by, the lad could be relied upon to be a leader in offense and that's an indicator of what he may be able to do when he's fully grown and fully confident.
Mitchell looks great. He was one of the 4 guards I would have been good with in Frank/DS/Monk/Mitchell. I just hope we picked right. I am confident we did. No buyer's regret for me. Mitchell might be better than Frank. He's a really good scorer and defends well also.Its funny though... because this just again shows how valuable Frank is. If we have a chance to draft a really good player like Mitchell in the draft, but say he's a bit short for SG as Mitchell is when you have Frank in the backcourt it doesnt matter. Frank is a guy can and will guard 3 spots.
I have seen enough from Frank to know we got the right guy, especially to build a defense around KP. If he takes longer he takes longer.
Mitchell, who is playing well, and who is also a man in terms of physical maturity, has been averaging 20 shots/game recently, and seemingly been given cart blanche to shoot as much as he wants.
Does anyone think he would have that freedom on the Knicks?
Team chemistry is always a consideration...Pippen was on the radio this morning talking about the difference between Westbrook and Paul, and he clearly sees Paul as the better teammate and leader, despite what Westbrook is able to do on the court as far as the stats.
I expect Ntilikina to be a 14-17PPG, 8-10APG, 4-6RPG, and 2/3SPG. With KP on the team, and others who can score, that is all you need at this point. Biggest thing for KP was/is a guard who can give him the ball when he's in the right position, and I think Frank and Ball are the most pass first guards in the draft. I've also seen that Fox's minutes have stayed the same, but his assists have decreased by month from 5 to 4 to 2, which makes me think defenders have discovered some things about his game (just a theory)
We seem to have done a quick rebuild, and we're not looking to tank. If we were looking to do that we would have dumped Lee and let Dotson play 30MPG and have free reign to shoot when he wants, and I'll bet he'd be averaging 15+PPG on such a team, but we're clearly looking to make a run for the playoffs.
You can also look at Charlotte and Monk, another tweener guard. They gave him more minutes and let him do his thing early on, and now he is getting minimal time and is not able to perform as a PG, which they seem to be asking him to do. He was never going to be a true PG, and as a SG, he's rather smallish.
Dallas gives Smith a lot of freedom, and he's had good games between injuries, but he's a combo guard, IMO, not a PG, and he's not a consistent defender.
Seems like everyone has some strengths and weaknesses.
Frank is the most underdeveloped player of all the guards chosen...we see glimpses of what he can be, but still won't know for a couple of years unless he really hits a maturity streak by next year. I think you have to wait for him to be 22/23 to know for sure what he will be...same was true for KP, who is still growing physically...and is maybe 2/3 years from full maturity and a hardening of his body.
I just think that our guy is competitive with everyone drafted in terms of potential and future success. Just have to wait and see, as many of us always seem to be saying about him.
EnySpree: Can we agree to agree not to mention Phil Jackson and triangle for the rest of our lives?