Thorpe: Lillard is third-best sophomore

[Hey]

If we redrafted this class, there would be a debate about whether Davis or Drummond should go No. 1. But the No. 3 pick would be easy. Lillard is just better than any other player in this class except for the two guys above him on this list. He has the rare gift of being a world-class shooter and an extremely skilled ball handler, and he plays with poise and aggressiveness simultaneously.

Lillard will never be the athlete that guys like John Wall or Russell Westbrook are, but it’s just as unlikely that those players will ever match Lillard’s shooting skill. He is good enough to be the starting point guard on a title team while being one of its top-three players.

http://forwardcenter.net/thorpe-lillard-ranked-third-among-sophomores-robinson-20th/


Can't make a strong case against Davis being #1. Didn't expect him to be such an efficient force on offense.
Drummond should be fourth, in my opinion. Unless we're talking about potential, Bradley Beal has him beat.

I say Lillard should be #2. His shooting is a bit horrendous at the moment, but he's a leader, clutch, and has A LOT to do with his team winning.
T-Rob is ranked 20th.

 

[illmatic99]

There's a difference between "best sophomores" and re-draft order. I too would probably consider Drummond as the the answer if we were re-drafting, but Dame is easily better than Drummond now.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Anthony Davis is still overrated as fuck.

 

[TheBlueDoggy]

Davis has made huge strides since last season. You could always see the potential, just waiting for a little seasoning and polish. He's getting there, but at the same time Lillard was a pretty well polished and mature product coming into the league. Is he a crazy athlete? I don't think so. Is he above average for his position and size, I think so. He's also clearly aware of many areas he can improve in and is working on them. I'm not sure how high his ceiling is, in regards to super-star type potential, but I think he'll end up nearly maximizing his abilities at some point in his career, which is something most NBA players can't say they ever did.

I see Davis as having a higher ceiling, but he's still got a ways to go to realize his full potential, and he may never be the best he can be. Choosing Drummond over Lillard would have to be a contextual choice, I.E. team that has a good PG and needs size. I still believe most GM's would take Lillard over Drummond, and it'd be a toss-up over Davis.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Can Drummond play in the 4th quarter of a close game?

 

[HailBlazers]

Can Drummond play in the 4th quarter of a close game?

Not so far.

1.) Davis

2.) Lillard

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Anthony Davis is still overrated as fuck.

Dude has a PER of 28.9; he's not turning it into wins for his team, though.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Dude has a PER of 28.9; he's not turning it into wins for his team, though.

I'm pretty much over statistics like PER. My eyes do a much better job.

 

[B-Roy]

Anthony Davis is a monster. Affects he game in so many ways.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Anthony Davis is a monster. Affects he game in so many ways.

He'll never be a winner unless he has a real superstar as his Batman. He's just a Robin.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Would you guys have rather had Lillard-Lopez or Dragic-Drummond?

 

[BlazerCaravan]

He'll never be a winner unless he has a real superstar as his Batman. He's just a Robin.

LMA and Lopez for Davis? Make it happen, Neil!

 

[B-Roy]

He'll never be a winner unless he has a real superstar as his Batman. He's just a Robin.

Why? I'm curious how you came to this conclusion.

It's his second year and their GM did an awful job constructing that roster. They gave up Robin Lopez for free so they could overpay Tyreke Evans....who doesn't even start.

 

[Rhal]

Thorpe always liked Lillard last year but he was never really buying into the hype. Thorpe is someone I like reading and listening to him but he gets too infatuated with putting players into "niches" so to speak and then he wont change his opinion on that player for years.

 

[Rhal]

Would you guys have rather had Lillard-Lopez or Dragic-Drummond?

Lillard-Lopez at the moment. Drummond looks great but he is still way to raw for me to want to label him an allstar level player.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

http://forwardcenter.net/thorpe-lillard-ranked-third-among-sophomores-robinson-20th/


Can't make a strong case against Davis being #1. Didn't expect him to be such an efficient force on offense.
Drummond should be fourth, in my opinion. Unless we're talking about potential, Bradley Beal has him beat.

I say Lillard should be #2. His shooting is a bit horrendous at the moment, but he's a leader, clutch, and has A LOT to do with his team winning.
T-Rob is ranked 20th.

Great find. BTW, you've been a member for 3+ years and have fewer posts in that time than some of the rooks do in a week. #qualityoverquantity

I can respect and rep that.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

Davis will never be a #1 til he does something about that unibrow.

BTW, I heard a rumor that Davis is considering removing some of that brow to give Lebron some plugs. Anyone else hear this same rumor?

 

[HailBlazers]

Great find. BTW, you've been a member for 3+ years and have fewer posts in that time than some of the rooks do in a week. #qualityoverquantity

I can respect and rep that.

Word. Some people don't know nothing about that. Cough cough HCP.

 

[Pinwheel1]

There's a difference between "best sophomores" and re-draft order. I too would probably consider Drummond as the the answer if we were re-drafting, but Dame is easily better than Drummond now.

Have we not made that mistake enough. Times have changed. Guards like Lillard are way more valuable than centers. I would love to have Drummond, but not over Lillard.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

Word. Some people don't know nothing about that. Cough cough HCP.

I was talking about some of the current rooks, more so.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Seriously, someone needs to tweet this shit to Lillard!

 

[julius]

Im super impressed with Anthony Davis so far, just hope he stays healthy.

 

[HailBlazers]

I was talking about some of the current rooks, more so.

Yea 'twas a joke.

But seriously there are a good number of lurkers around like Hey the OP who contribute only so often but do so with quality posts. Makes RPC2 one of the best basketball forums out there.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

Yea 'twas a joke.

But seriously there are a good number of lurkers around like Hey the OP who contribute only so often but do so with quality posts. Makes RPC2 one of the best basketball forums out there.

You're forgetting the exact-opposite of Hey the OP, which make this place like meth.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Where does Leonard fall on the list?

 

[HailBlazers]

Where does Leonard fall off the list?

FTFY

 

[Draco]

Where does Leonard fall on the list?

The list only goes to 20, He's not on it. TRob is #20.

 

[Strenuus]

I could make a case for Lillard at #2.

But Davis this year has been tearing it up, and most people when they watch the NBA now look at individual performances rather than team wins, and that's probably why Drummond is #2 (and Davis #1, to an extent). Except Drummonds' awful FT %. Though, to be fair, I can't think of Davis' off the top of my head.

 

[StumptownHoliday]

LMA and Lopez for Davis? Make it happen, Neil!

Hmmmmmmmmmmm interesting very interesting

 

[StumptownHoliday]

He'll never be a winner unless he has a real superstar as his Batman. He's just a Robin.

This is only possibly true because we don't have a big man league anymore. AD is a beast who's only going to get better. He's freaking twenty years old while averaging 20 and 10 with four blocks.