David Thorpe on rookies

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Rookie of the Year challengers

Damian Lillard | Portland Trail Blazers
Summer stats: 26.5 ppg (44% shooting), 4 rpg, 5.3 apg, 0.5 spg

In my eyes, Lillard was the best rookie in Vegas. His talent as a floor general, as well as his ability to shoot and score, proved that you don't have to play in the ACC or Big East to become an elite player. And that's what Lillard projects to be right now. He's a slightly downgraded version of Derrick Rose, with some Chauncey Billups mixed in, who will likely start from Day 1 and will be the favorite to win ROY since he'll have the ball in his hands a ton.

The Disappointments

Soup Juggler | Cleveland Cavaliers
Summer stats: 12.3 ppg (30% shooting), 3 rpg, 3 apg, 1 spg

Waiters looked like a combo guard, and often more like a point guard without great passing skills. Which would be OK if Cleveland didn't already has one of the top young point guards in the league. I know the staff is high on Waiters, based on scouting him all season, but no one in Vegas saw what they had seen all year. He'll likely play a good amount, so he'll have plenty of chances to figure things out.
 
That would be great if he did win ROY, but i just can't see anyone beating Davis unless he sucks or gets hurt.
 
santeesioux said:
That would be great if he did win ROY, but i just can't see anyone beating Davis unless he sucks or gets hurt.
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I think there's more of a learning curve for big men in the NBA.... unless the refs coddle them like a newborn (see Griffin, Blake).
 
Here's a pretty good non-insider story about some of the stuff at summer league:

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-120722/daily-dime

Most Valuable Player

Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

With a dearth of star rookie performances thanks to injuries (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, maybe Austin Rivers) and patriotic responsibilities (Anthony Davis), Lillard took summer league by storm with averages of 26.5 points and 5.3 assists per game. For the same reason Kyrie Irving was such a hit as a rookie, Lillard showed a similar game in his Las Vegas action. He got to the basket with great balance and turned heads with his ability to make plays.
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There's also some funny awards that should get a light chuckle at least.
For example: Jerryd Bayless Award (For the player who exploded at summer league but won't be a star)
 
Natebishop3 said:
I think there's more of a learning curve for big men in the NBA.... unless the refs coddle them like a newborn (see Griffin, Blake).
Click to expand...

I doubt it, mostly because Anthony isn't exactly an offensively polished player like Griffin was coming in.
 
santeesioux said:
That would be great if he did win ROY, but i just can't see anyone beating Davis unless he sucks or gets hurt.
Click to expand...

I don't see Davis winning it. He just doesn't have the offensive game that wows the voters.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
 
Nikolokolus said:
I doubt it, mostly because Anthony isn't exactly an offensively polished player like Griffin was coming in.
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Yeah.... Griffin is also a highlight machine, which immediately put him on Stern's "big boy" list. I think Davis will most likely struggle, simply because that team is fucking terrible outside of Gordon.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Yeah.... Griffin is also a highlight machine, which immediately put him on Stern's "big boy" list. I think Davis will most likely struggle, simply because that team is fucking terrible outside of Gordon.
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I do know one thing, he's going be swatting shit out of the gym 3-4 times per game ... that should get him some ESPN replays.
 
Nikolokolus said:
I do know one thing, he's going be swatting shit out of the gym 3-4 times per game ... that should get him some ESPN replays.
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Yeah, long term I think he's going to be great. It will be interesting to see how the refs handle him. I thought Oden would get the preferential treatment but he never did.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Yeah, long term I think he's going to be great. It will be interesting to see how the refs handle him. I thought Oden would get the preferential treatment but he never did.
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True, but Oden had so much trouble getting right physically that his rookie year (well sophomore year technically) was mostly him just trying to play catch up and teams exploited the hell out of his rawness. Davis just looks like a more natural player than Oden was, but you're probably right, expecting preferential treatment from the refs is right out the window.
 
Nikolokolus said:
True, but Oden had so much trouble getting right physically that his rookie year (well sophomore year technically) was mostly him just trying to play catch up and teams exploited the hell out of his rawness. Davis just looks like a more natural player than Oden was, but you're probably right, expecting preferential treatment from the refs is right out the window.
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Plus, ROY voting seems to be based heavily on stats, and if Lillard puts up numbers anywhere near like the ones he had in SL, he'll be a shoo-in. That is unless Davis puts up 20/10, but I think that's unlikely.
 
I had no idea that Griffin put up 22 and 12. Pretty impressive.
 
Thanks, MM.

Remember that the most flattering comp. for Davis is Garnett, and that Damon Stoudamire won ROY in Garnett's rookie year.
 
I like Lillard's chances if he can prove he can be a good floor general. He has the talent, but I wonder how he will use that talent under pressure. I don't see him as one that will hang his head low if he makes a mistake. If I guessed right, I think he will have no problem running this offense. Now if we still had Nate as coach; I would be worried.
 
Davis wont win because he will have that train wreck of a backcourt gordon and rivers trying ro prove who is more of a ball hog. Davis will have to score off rebounds.
 
Rhal said:
I don't see Davis winning it. He just doesn't have the offensive game that wows the voters.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

Davis will average numbers that Okafor has put up over his career.
 
It's hard to come up with any kind of comparison for Davis.

Watching him at Kentucky and the short minutes he gets with Team USA his timing on blocks is elite.

From day one I think he'll start out (defensively) as Theo Ratliff circa 2004.
 
Theo was pretty amazing in his prime. You literally could not go in the paint while he was there. Swat the $hit outta everything.
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
It's hard to come up with any kind of comparison for Davis.

Watching him at Kentucky and the short minutes he gets with Team USA his timing on blocks is elite.

From day one I think he'll start out (defensively) as Theo Ratliff circa 2004.
Click to expand...

Slightly smaller Mutumbo? Maybe a sprinkling of KG ... I don't know
 
Natebishop3 said:
Is that supposed to impress me? Okafor is extremely meh.
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But didn't Okafor win ROY? I take it that's his point.

My comparison for Davis is a slightly bigger Kirilenko. Kirilenko was the master of the "five-by-five" - at least five in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals - which is much harder to get than a triple double. Davis shows the same kind of versatility.

Or you could be boring and go with Garnett again.
 
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