I will admit, I knew nothing about this kid coming into this year, but he is special. His game reminds me a lot of Brandon's. He is on his way to doing something that only 3, that's right 3 players in the history of the NBA were able to do. Average 20 points/ 5 rebs/ and 5 dimes their rookie season. 'Bron, MJ and Oscar Robertson! I don't care what you think, That is amazing!
Not to discount his accomplishments, but when you play on a crappy team like the Kings, it helps getting those types of numbers a bit easier.
You're right...Chris Paul sucks too (I think what you say can sometimes have merit, just not in this case)
Agreed, but look at all the players that have played on shitty teams who DID NOT average those kinda' numbers.
They think highly enough of his overall game to get rid of KMart. I am looking forward to watching him and brandon go at it next week.
A little anectdote about Evans. Before the draft, there was a multi-team workout for top PG candidates. Curry, Flynn, Lawson, and Jennings were all there. A writer from DraftExpress got to sit with the scouts and watch. They put the players thru solo drills, 1-on-1 drills, and 3-on-3 drills. The writer went in a huge fan of Jennings....but admited that Evans just dominated everyone. Before reading that, I was in the same boat as "THE" - I really didn't know much about him. Then again, the writer was a guy who follows this stuff, and even he seemed surprised at just how good Evans was! It seems he was a pleasant surprise to many people. Just as an aside: Jennings sucked in the solo drills, pouting and refusing to follow directions. He did little in the 1-on-1 drills. Then he went into the 3-on-3 drills and looked great. A good example of why they run these guys thru such a variety of tests.
If you've never seen the documentary film "Gunnin' For That #1 Spot," you should check it out. I thought Tyreke kind of stole the show during the segment that highlighted him. I'd read some pretty glowing reports on him, prior to that, but he was definitely a player I was watching from that point on. I thought it was crazy, in the weeks leading up to the draft, that numerous mocks had him in the mid-to-late lottery. The part of the film that shows the actual game, in NYC, I thought was a little boring. It was the player profile segments I found to be the most interesting/revealing (positively, for most, and not so much for others--yeah, I'm lookin' at you, "Super Cool Beas'" ).
I remember a thread at the beginning of the year where a majority of you guys thought I was crazy for saying Evans has the possibility of being better than Roy. Where are all those haters now that called him Larry Hughes v2.0?
I thought he looked very average in Summer League. I think I called him "a bigger Jarrett Jack". I remain unconvinced that he's a point guard. He's certainly putting up nice numbers, but then again, it is a guard's league now that you can't handcheck. However, Shane Battier just locked him up last night. He's a rich man's OJ Mayo. There, I think that's about right.
That's why they traded Kevin Martin and put Evans @ SG.... Another aspect that might be overlooked is that Evans usually guards the best perimeter player of the other team either it be the PG or one of the swingmen. Chris Paul gave him props earlier in the year in one of their match-ups.
At the same time, that isn't the point. The point is look at the company he is in. Because I can tell you right now, that when Lebron and Jordan were rookies, their teams were brutally bad. So when he is included in a rare list of rookies that averaged that stat line, I think he is in good company. They were all on bad teams their rookie year. It is rare a good team gets a high draft pick like that.
Plus this is the NBA, the competition is the same no matter what team you play on, anytime a rookie comes in and does that it's special. R.O.Y. without a doubt
A wise man once said, "Link?" Evans is making the season endurable in Northern California. The Kings are mired in the same arena war the Sonics went through, but these owners can afford to stretch out the struggle for years. Also, one of Stern's best friends isn't looking for a team this time. Also, the Warriors keep talking about moving within the Bay Area but never do.
Okay I lied, I was arguing with Mixum... But ya, I was still right except the part of Kevin Martin helping
Ok, I'll ask the elephant in the room question... Sure, 20/5/5 as a rookie is rare, but is it special? 20 pts and 5 assists, or 20 pts and 5 boards is nothing out of the ordinary for a top rookie. It's just that the combination of all three happens very seldom. But so what? It's not like his numbers are off the charts in any of the three categories... It's just very solid across the board. Why is that so special?
Really? How about the fact that only 3 players have ever done it? That seems to make it "kinda" special don't you think?