LOL. Well played. My real objective was just to share the video in case some hadn't seen it. I usually am a quiet observer on the boards and blogs, but I've been preaching Lillard for some time in the circles and when I got my hands on the video from the other day, it seemed like I was finally getting some visual that was making some rounds out there. Anyway, I wasn't trying to actually make comparisons to Bird directly with Lillard as that's absurd. But the comparisons can be made with with just about anyone when people start going down slippery slopes like "let them prove it against a real school" or something along those lines. That is just fodder for people who want to make an argument because they think they have something, but we can just as easily show it's been dis-proven time and again with guys like Porter, Bird, heck even Steph Curry recently was fighting that same stigma.
i think the small school with the questionable competition is a fairly valid drawback, but thats why theres scouts watching every minute of every game hes ever played in
Good post. I think that is spot-on. I think one thing that many overlook is that in order to be a guy who no scout had even heard of through his high school years, then goes on to an obscure school like Weber State, and manages to begin displaying skill sets so outrageous to draw scouts coming and watching every game he's played in - then having said scouts going out on a limb with this guy nobody has heard of staking their reputations by saying he's a high lottery pick alone shows just how superior his skills are from much of the NCAA players in America. But your assessment is likely correct. I suppose in a way I was like a boy walking into a bar and telling my friends all night long that the blonde in the corner is looking at me and wants me to go home with her. Then at the end of the night when she hands me her number, I feel vindicated that my earlier instincts were likely correct. But only to find out that maybe she gave her number out to 3-4 guys just looking for someone to warm the sheets for $40. So that's a good point with the Diebler video, it shows me maybe I should have taken a step back and not been so ready to take it as the exception, but it was what I was expecting to see. And at the end of the day, I still think it's a better indicator than the poor performances we see from guys like Drummond, Rivers or Wroten in these pre-draft workouts.
He is 1.25" shorter than Waiters but Lillard has a .5" longer wingspan. Not exactly a huge difference there Oh and he's also a point guard
check this out....another awesome SAC workout...Nobody missed a shot...well except for the white guy.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNz2f0KUMGc&feature=relmfu Is he? b\c he really doesn't play or pass like one....Waiters has some explosion to his game and can absorb contact and still finish....I don't see that with Lillard.....
Which means of course that to be fair he would need a new set of teammates to play with as well. We mention that his stats in the few games he played against good competition were not very good but we have no clue how his Weber State teammates effected his play. How would have Lillard's stats changed if he started for Kentucky? Less points and more assists possibly? I bet his W/L record would have been better and his shooting percentage would be higher in those big games as the the main focus of the other team's defensive game plan could not have been all about stopping him. He will be interesting to watch in the NBA if he plays for a team with a bunch of scorers.
Lillard doesn't look explosive to you? He's a great athlete with a strong build. I grant you that he didnt have to absorb contact from NBA level big men/defenders, but he was exceptional at it against the people who he did play against, who werent exactly small bodied compared to him. I've seen good passes from him and he displays the kind of intelligence that aids with passing and making the right decisions. You have every right and reason to be doubtful of his PG abilities. In my opinion the same can be said about most PG prospects coming out of college in recent years. Lillard didn't try to be a pass first point guard and fail though, he was needed to be a scorer and he did so in an incredibly efficient manor.
That's what i would need to do t make a good decision on Lillard; my first question is why a guy who shoots so well in workouts didn't have a higher shooting percent against the subpar defenders he went up against almost every night? Was he constantly double-teamed or what?
Lillard looks to have good enough handles to play PG. That's the key for him. My friend, Randy, thinks a PG doesn't necessarily have to have great court vision to be a good PG. His beliefs are that a scoring type PG simply needs to have the desire to give up the ball. Most guys that are so called shoot first PG's can succeed in the league and make their teams better by drawing and dishing. He seems quick enough to get by people, unlike Marshall, and assuming he will pass if the defense collapses on him, then he would be a great fit.
I think this is an excellent point. The selfish-type shoot first point guards that none of us want, are not so bad because they don't have super court vision, but bad because they refuse to move the ball. Is it worth sacrificing outside shooting, defensive speed, and ability to get into the lane for super court vision? That is Lillard v. Marshall.
Did you see Westbrook last night? THAT is explosive....Lillard is nowhere near that level of athleticism.... Anyone comparing Lillard to Westbrook or Rose (not saying it was you) is suffering from delusions of grandeur.....
I am not arguing for or against, just offering up combine numbers of the two, and including Bayless as well because he is an athletic freak like Westbrook that hasn't seen as much success. W/O shoes RW 6' 2.25" JB 6' 1.75" DL 6' 1.75" W shoes 6' 3.5" 6' 3" 6' 2.75" Weight 192 204 189 Wingspan 6' 7.75" 6' 3.5" 6' 7.75" Reach 8' 4" 8' 1" 7' 11.5" Body fat 4.8 4.7 5.9 No step Vert 30.0 31.0 34.5 No step vert reach 10' 10" 10' 8" 10' 10" Max vert 36.5 38.0 39.5 Max vert reach 11' 4.5" 11' 3" 11' 3" BP reps 12 10 13 Agility 10.98 11.26 11.15 Sprint 3.08 3.07 3.34 Not sure what this tells us, if anything, but it seems, on paper anyway, that he is a very good athlete, no?
I'm not arguing for or against either, but it's also worth noting that some guys can't play at "full throttle" and stay in control using all of their athleticism.
