That's what great for me, he's clearly not at his best and still has a fine overall game, over an 82 game season that happens and if his off game is just average but not bad, that's a very good thing
Lillard's PG instincts are surprisingly good. A couple times in that first half, he kind of got forced out of where he was going but he somehow saw someone near the basket and immediately zipped it to them.
By the way, I've watched three games now and I don't really see a problem with Babbit. His offense is not in gear yet, but there has been a lot of criticism of his defense. Didn't see it; the few times when he got beat it seemed it was because a teammate got beat first and left Babbit in a really bad position.
Dude, he's terrible. His one marketable skill is that he's a shooter, and he hasn't been able to do even that. He has been shooting terribly.
I'm with Ukraine fan on Babbitt. I think he played Very well tonight. I think both Lillard and Leonard earned probably a starting spot but also that both Barton and Babbitt earned minutes. Babbitt isn't a great defender but he tries hard, he's also a very good rebounder, a solid passer and we know he has range. He plays smart and calm and it looks like he knows his defficiencies and constantly tries to get better. I very much disliked Babbitt as a rookie, thought he was a waste of draft pick/roster spot, but maybe last year when he got some minutes brought him confidence. Check out his stat-line from tonight: 11 Points, 8 Rebounds, 6 Assists, +16 (2nd in the team behind Barton's +20) in 25 minutes. And it's not just the stats, I've watched the game and it felt like every time he's on the floor he makes it easier for the team to succeed.
The nicest thing I'll say about Babbitt is that thankfully he's going to be wearing a suit most of the year. I know some of you people like him (or want to like him) but he's not an NBA 3 or 4 ... his game looks like it'd fit in somewhere in one of Europe's B leagues, but not the NBA -- he's too slow, not strong enough, no in-between game, tries hard but can't guard, has deep range, but is very hot and cold.
Selective memory? He was hot early in summer league. I honestly don't think Babbitt's problem on defense is lack of speed or desire. He appears to work pretty hard and moves around well, he just finds himself out of position a lot. I think that can improve (to being adequate) in time, making him worth keeping on the floor.
Selective memory? He's 9-31 so far in summer league from beyond the arc. That's 29%. His four games so far are: 4-9 from 3 against HOU 3-10 against Houston 0-6 against ATL 2-6 against Denver This is summer league. He has had wide open looks and he can't knock them down. The guy is terrible. He wasn't hot "hot early", he shot a respectable percentage "early" and has quickly dropped off ever since.
Welcome to the world of role players. I still don't understand why Portland fans seem to think that every player needs to be exceptional in all aspects of the game. Or, at least why some players need to be all-around players. Babbitt is already a better NBA player than the Euro dud from Boston with the non-guaranteed deal Olshey picked up yesterday along with a draft pick, and who will likely be waived before camp even begins.
He shot 43% in games that mattered last year. Summer league matters for some players than the regular season, but not for others. Welcome to the S2 school of thought. I still have to laugh about the entire "fax machine war" that you refused to budge on regarding when a player signs an offer sheet, by the way. The Babbitt hatred is just stupid to me, frankly.
Yay! Papa is back and in full effect. Do you ever form an argument without throwing out something completely unrelated to try to support your claim? The guy has one skill. I dare you to name another skill to his name. And he can't even do that one skill. Nobody ever has expected Babbitt to be anything since he was drafted (except maybe MM). I've had extremely low expectations for him since the moment he joined our franchise. He's not a "role player", he is commonly referred to in the NBA world as a "scrub" or a "bench warmer" if you will. He's a Jack Haley. He's taking up a roster spot. I'd rather have Ibekwe on our team.
He shot 43% from 3pt. That's pretty good for an NBA player. He's also the second-leading rebounder on the Summer League team. What would Ibekwe bring to the team? What's his exceptional NBA skill. I understand that you don't like Babbitt; you've been shatting your thoughts about him over multiple threads for the last week, yet he's actually having a decent summer league. 13ppg/7rpg/2apg/1spg isn't that bad, IMO. At least not as bad your weeklong tantrum would indicate.
Kenneth Faried averaged 8rpg in 26 minutes in the summer league. Babbitt has averaged 7.3rpg in 30 minutes in the summer league. I guess that means Babbitt rebounds at a slightly lesser rate than Faried when given minutes, since Summer League is all that matters when assessing Babbitt.
If Babbitt was an average defender he'd be a very good role player. If Babbitt was a bad defender he'd be a good role player. If Babbitt was a terrible defender he'd be a borderline acceptable role player. He is in fact a horrible defender - a terrible 1-on-1 defender, a team defense's worst enemy, make him unacceptable. His stats are good, but they just don't show how bad he is. He might even be OK against mid-level teams. But I would not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES play him in a playoff game. So, why not give PT to someone else. So, they real question becomes a matter of ceiling. I and other are pessimistic that he's going to get there. Some skills are readily learned, some aren't. It is unlikely he becomes an average NBA player let alone an all-star.
What part of "hot early" don't you understand? Citing the subsequent games (the first of which was still decent) is irrelevant. 4-9 in the first game is pretty damn good in my book. Even his misses looked like great shots.
Who is expecting him to become an All-Star? Hell, there are quite a few first-round picks who are out of the league or never play in it by the end of their 4-year rookie contract, and that includes lottery picks. If Babbitt can be a 40+% 3pt shooter and rebound a little, he'll get a second contract from somebody in the league. As a 16th pick, that's really all I'd expect out of him.
