I'm seriously believing that McCollum will be greatly improved. He just didn't mesh well with Mo and hero ball. Blake and CJ is a better combo than Mo and CJ.
Said it better than I could have. Wasn't CJ pushing Matthews for a starting gig before his injury? I don't think that was Rice reporting that either. I think it was real.
That was a board fantasy which I often corrected. A plump undersized rookie mid-1st rounder from LeHigh (is that a high school?) in a weak draft, who underwhelmed in Summer League, starting over an NFL-body SG 2 inches taller who annually gets a few votes for All-Defense team...Nope. On ESPN I posted a lot more than here. When I kept talking about JellyBelly on the Sonics board, they'd call me a Blazers troll, etc. I was helping both boards survive. Nobody else called him JellyBelly (he wasn't fat).
Matthews should start even if he's less talented than CJ (which he absolutely is in offensive versatility) because (a) he's a much better defender, and capable of defending a wider range of players (b) he's the emotional leader of the team (c) he's a better three point shooter (d) we need CJ's offensive versatility off the bench. CJ as a bench player would get more shots/minute than CJ as a starter. It's not Danny Green over Ginobili, but only because Wes is better than Green and CJ wishes he were Ginobili.
Blake will really help CJ offensively. Much more than Mo. I saw improvement from CJ defensively in summer league but it was not against top tier talent. That along with his lack of size tell me he's still a role player and project. I hope he finds that gear to pick up the tempo off the bench and still have the IQ to get back on defense. It's all speculation at this point but he's talented. I still give Barton and Robinson the edge coming off the bench.
CJ's advantage over both of those guys is between his ears. They're just so wild and undisciplined. Will is like the poor man's JR Smith. CJ could at least be the poor man's Hersey Hawkins.
CJ is a brilliant dude. Will however has an edge to me on several levels. I think Will's timeframe for making leaps is amazing. Last year I would agree with you here but this season I see Will as a true 6man. People said Ginobli was wild and out of control or a young Jason Terry but both have won the 6man award and I think that's the ceiling for him. I'd like to see CJ become the next Rod Strickland. To me Rod's pt guard game was beautiful. Too bad alchoholism ruined his career. CJ is going to struggle guarding 2guards at this level. He may be able to guard point guards much better
Both ginobli and terry are very smart players. Actually always been pretty "head smart". They may have been out of control, but what they have between the ears is more than anything Will has. I love me some will, but the dude ain't at a level close to the mental capacity of those you mentioned.
