The rookie ladder from nba.com ranks the top 10 rookies based on their summer league play. Right now Lillard is #2 (just behind Lamb). David Thorpe of espn basically says that Lillard is awesome, and can be a future all star: daily dime One of my hopes was that Lillard would gain national respect and shut up the "he was a reach" crowd. I think he's done it already, but if not now, soon.
Yeah, he looks pretty damned good. I've been hoping to see him distribute a little more, but his teammates haven't exactly been rewarding his trust when he does, so in the meantime I'll take his pure jumper, good PnR skills and his ability to finish. Assuming Nicolas comes into camp with the same mentality he has on the French National team (hell, he should after all the money he's raking in) I think we could see him run some of the offense with Lillard getting a chance to play off the ball which could also ease his development. Good stuff.
The way Batum can slash to the hoop (when allowed by his coach, or when he just does it anyway)..... I can see that leading to see easy points for Batum, whether on bounce passes through the lane or on soft alley-oops.
He has that Brandon Roy thing you can't define. He's obviously got the goods physically but I'm so impressed with his decision making and the way he interviews. He's very serious about the game, he can immediately identify the areas he can improve after the games but doesn't get down on himself. I did see him start pressing at the end but when he has players who can also score around him I think that will resolve. He can score at will but he's definitely looking to pass as well. I think he's going to be a special player and will be our PG of the future. I really think we have that now and I'm thrilled!
Last night while I was watching the game I thought the same thing... LA and Nic are going to love playing with this guy. Lots of easy buckets.
Really really stupid passing on lamb. I think the blazers will regret that move for years. We would have been set at pg and sg. Lenard is a backup at best. Lamb and Lillard would have been amazing at 1&2
Well that, and I think it's possible Nicolas might be able to run some high-low stuff with LA because of his length as well as finding Lillard on the wing. Bottom line: I really hope Olshey follows through on the vision for a coach/system he laid out for Chris Webber and Joel Meyers during his court-side interview; somebody who will install a lot of motion and cutting with a solid dose of pick and rolls from Lillard which theoretically take full advantage of the guys who are going to have to shoulder the majority of the load on offense this year (Aldridge, Lillard and Batum).
A good start. He has to keep it up. He also has to realize that the NBA ain't Weber State. He doesn't have to score to be effective. I'd like him to pass more and shoot less.
I think Waiters and Robinson sucking will also deflect the "he was a reach" crowd. I actually think that crowd exists mostly on here as Blazers fans who had other favorites at 6. Nationwide, I haven't heard too much about him being a reach at 6.
I was really apprehensive about drafting Lillard in the lead up to the draft; he looked like another in a long line of score-first point guards and the small college pedigree kind of worried me too, but I watched him do a one-on-one interview with Chad Ford and his ability to analyze the game and his demeanor were so impressive that I suddenly felt OK about him. There's still much for him to do to become a good starter (let alone a star), but guys who work like that, think like that and have the physical tools to back it up always have a shot. it's pretty damned exciting.
Hard to gauge by Summer League, but so far I really like his defense. Lillard, Batum, Matthews together could make one damn fine defensive unit, good enough to keep our bigs out of foul trouble.
Man crush on Lillard but I really like Barton alot. I'm very suprised on how quick his hands are. He is surprising me even more than Lillard
This thread is about Lillard, but I'm going to respond to your OT post anyway. Lamb was probably BPA, but 1) Decent Centers are harder to find than quality 2s 2) We have 3 good 2s already, it's not obvious Lamb will be better than all of the 3 we have. 3) Even with Leonard, we need another Center 4) Lamb is much more NBA ready so it's easy to say this today, but if ML blossoms like they think he can, we'll be very happy. 5) Decent Centers make more than quality 2s, so we're saving Cap Space. Bottom Line: If Houston offered to trade Lamb for ML today, we don't do that trade.
On a side note, the Houston fans are going to have fun watching that team with Lin. I would be hella excited if I was a Rockets fan.
Re: Lamb -- Mike & Mike said Lamb was not 100% during individual workouts. The Blazers have to draft based on available information. If they really liked Leonard during the workout, why would they pass on him for what Lamb might be? Lamb may be the better player (and probably will be), but hindsight is always 20/20. I wouldn't be beating myself up over that decision if I am the Blazers.
Maybe the Blazers could have looked at complete body of work instead of 2 hours? Not saying they didn't, but that is a dumb thing for the Mikes to say
I agree that I think we will regret passing on Lamb, but I at least think that Leonard will be a decent starter. I just think Lamb could be an All-Star.
I see Lamb looking alot like a Rudy Gay type player. His D didn't impress me; but the dude can score. Yeah we had a chance at him; but I like having a center with promise.
