Wow, he "looks" like replacement level. Such a great endorsement... Players tend to do much worse than they "look".
By who? Most backup 4s don't do shit on offense and all he has to do is box out, which he seems very good at.
If Rudy stays, Dante is our 2nd PF to start the season, no need to give a lot of minutes to Babbitt, especially when his most-advertized trait on offense - 3 point shooting - isn't as good as Rudy's. He will probably spend the season sometimes on the IR and sometimes getting garbage minutes with the "3rd lineup". I'm not saying he couldn't be a pleasent surprise and earn real minutes like Dante last year or even more real, but I don't really expect that from him. Now, if Rudy is traded for a pick+exception (not for another player) that changes things. Babbitt's offense becomes a bigger priority for the defensive-minded 2nd unit, between him and Mathewss, we could have enough shooting to complement Bayless going to the hole. The 2nd unit with Rudy: Bayless, Rudy, Mathewss, Dante/Joel, Camby The 2nd unit without Rudy: Bayless, Mathewss, Babbit?, Dante/Joel, Camby
Trout was an athletic freak - but he did not have half the handle Babbit has. What they both have - is the ability to create their own shot. Trout did it by elevating no matter what happened, Babbit has the skill and handle to create separation via deception and ball handling. At the end of the day, on the offensive side of the court - this amounts to the same thing.
Yeah, for whatever reason, I think Luke's gonna eventually fall into the "miss" category. Isn't he a Born/Buchanon guy all the way?
Of course he CAN...... but he is gonna get lit up! You bumped this thread for that comeback? How do you "un-rep" somebody?!?
Babbitt will play this season at the Behind-Dante-Cunningham position, which is low-stress except for the occasional butt splinter.
Lit up by whom? A lot of PFs aren't offensive threats, particularly in the low post. And if he can get them to foul out on one end, they're not going to be scoring on him on the other. I agree, it's not ideal. But I see Luke as a lot more of a shorter Dirk than I see him as a taller Chris Mullin. (Insert "poor man's" before each, of course.) No doubt he won't get much time, unless we're beset by injuries again, but it's interesting to see that that's where he's getting played. Personally, I think Elliot is the candidate most likely to spend time in the D-League early on, at least until a Rudy trade. Babbitt at least has value in practice - he can test the Blazers' 3-point defense. And of course Armon is our our second-best PG.
Babbitt is a fantastic shooter in drills, but he has a lot to learn about other stuff. Armon Johnson is a terrible shooter, and he has a lot to learn about other stuff. Johnson and Williams need to go to the D-League, with a committee playing substitute PG.
