The Jimmer slow? Think again as he shines in some

of the lane agility drills. For a guy thought of as the classic slow white dude he beat some of the supposed speed demons. Another guard (Andrew Goudelock) who is labeled a superb shooter but on the nonathletic side surprised big time and beat some of the big name guards. Interesting

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2011-NBA-Combine-Athletic-Testing-Results-3725/

 

Yuck

 

Jimmy Butler has surprisingly good numbers. I like him more and more as a second rounder (if only because athleticism was supposed to be his weakness). Check out the verticals of Isaiah Thomas and Kemba Walker (bearing in mind, though, that Jordan Farmar had a 42 inch vertical).

 

The Jimmer also comes dead last of all those tested in Max Vertical Reach. It's nice to have SOME stereotypes confirmed.

 

These are only "indicators" but IMO is does sort of suggest his slowness was exaggerated, perhaps quite a bit

 

He is white..... no thanks!

 

I'm not sure what people are expecting at the 21st pick. Draft a player with a specific talent at that spot, IMO, unless a freak like Batum slips to you.

I'd be fine with either Fredette (Portland desperately needs shooters off of the bench) or Kenneth Faried (undersized, but could be a rebounding freak who has the athleticism to defend).

 

oh yes of course! max vertical reach is so very critical to a guy at his position and the skills he has - LOL

 

racist...lol

 

If he's there when Portland picks and no one better is still on board, then why not.


Better still, why not move the pick and Rudy for a corn dog.

 

I know you're jesting, but it got me thinking.

Look at the teams that were left in the conference finals.

Chicago - Kyle Korver off of bench
Dallas - Peja off of bench
Miami - Mike Miller off of bench
OKC - no elite shooter off of bench

3/4 of the final 4 teams had a white player known as being great shooters providing offense off of the bench. Having a white guy (or black guy, but white this year) who is able to hit an open three consistently helps teams win in the playoffs. It stretches out the defense and gives your more rounded offensive players more room to operate.

If Jimmer proves to be an elite shooter, not just good, but elite, in workouts, I'd draft him.

 

He ran 4.65 twice in his pro day in Eugene. That's why he wasn't drafted, and why Mike Hass wasn't drafted until the 7th round.

 

With the 21st pick, getting a rotation player is what we need to be looking at. And I think Jimmer is going to be a very good bench player following the Terry/Crawford mold.

I don't know why everyone is so against getting him.

 

I think there is a lesson to be learned here when it comes to athletic measurements at a combine. Some players play slower than their measured speeds. Think of all the work-out wonders like Joe Alexander that test well, but when you watch them on tape they aren't able to actually apply that maximum athleticism in the course of game.

In Jimmer's case I'm far more worried about the fact that he was never asked to play defense ... ever. How is he suddenly going to gain the reps needed to create the muscle memory and awareness needed to sit down in his stance without leaning forward when he gets tired against much tougher competition? He's also 6'0" tall with a 33" vertical jump. I'd worry about his ability to get enough elevation to get his jump shot off against taller more athletic wing defenders at the next level.

 

Eric Maynor's not a 'household name' as far as shooters go, but he's been shooting the lights out for OKC this last month. Too lazy to check, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's got the best shooting #s of him and the 3 you listed. Harden's been extremely solid for them as well, inside and out.

 

Guess the player:

Player A
Height w/o shoes: 6'0.75"
Height w/shoes: 6'2.5"
Weight: 196
Wingspan: 6'4.5"
Standing Reach: 8'0.5"
No step vert: 28"
Max vert: 33"
Lane agility: 10.42 secs
3/4 court sprint: 3.21 secs

Player B:
Height w/o shoes: 6'1.75"
Height w/shoes: 6'2.75"
Weight: 202
Wingspan: 6'6.25"
Standing Reach: 8'2"
No step vert: 30"
Max vert: 35"
Lane agility: 10.83 secs
3/4 court sprint: 3.25 secs

A is slightly faster, B is slightly bigger.

 

And Daequan Cook has always been considered a knock-down shooter.

 

My take is that if the guy is an elite shooter (I don't know if he is), then his weaknesses don't really matter. Steve Kerr couldn't play defense to save his life, yet he managed to be a key role player on title teams because he could do one thing at an elite level, which is shoot the ball.

As I said, though, if the Blazers don't think Jimmer has that one elite skill set, there is no point drafting him in the first round.