On the other hand, he had a really dumb turnover on his first possession of the game, later got his pocket picked because he wasn't paying attention to the ball while he was trying to direct the offense, seemed to get locked up by THT every time they faced off, repeatedly got lost on defense after a few swing passes (though he was certainly not alone in that), and the vast majority of his highlights occurred after the game was already far out of reach and the white flag had been raised. He did have a few nice plays yesterday, and his natural abilities were certainly on display, but I personally wouldn't use last night as evidence that he's turning the corner.
The fact is that when Shaedon reclassified he was ahead of Scoot in that draft class. We gave him all season and didn't really see any sort of consistency until the last month of the season. Scoot is the same age as Shae was and honestly I think Ignite prepares guys to play in this league about as much as Shae practicing with Kentucky. The games mean nothing on Ignite and Scoot played 18 games in two years. I think both guys are going to be great but both have/had a very steep learning curve. I think if you have a guy like Schmitz then you can roll the dice on guys like these but for the most part professional ball in Europe or Australia or the traditional route of playing your senior year in high school and then freshman year in NCAA prepares guys much better than skipping all of that (Shae) or Ignite (Scoot). Patience is key with Scoot and we can have a ton of it because we have Ant and right now Brogdon.
I think Scoot can rise his FG percentage above 40% this year and I'd like to see his 3 pt percentage get near 30%. Reasonable and doable objectives I think
To me these last two games he's looked much more under control. He's not going 100mph every time he touches the ball. He's seeing things and then making his move instead of making his move first in an out-of-control manner. There's a lot to love about the kid and his mindset, especially given the shit he's taken his first couple months. But he's definitely starting to figure it out. I could care less about his jump shooting percentage if I'm being honest. That part of his game will develop, he's got a good stroke. I just want to see him more decisive in the pick & roll, and turning the ball over less. Not concerned with his ability to get to the cup and finish. Needs to keep working on staying out of foul trouble.
his slashing game looked much better this game (finally showed that athleticism), was able to get to the rim & finish more of the same please (oh, and 10 ast isnt bad either)
Comparing the top 5 picks Wemby - 19 ppg, 43.5% from the field, 27.8% from three, 10.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 3 blocks Miller - 14.8 ppg, 43.5% from the field, 39.5% from three, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.5 blocks Scoot - 11.1 ppg, 37% from the field, 24% from three, 4.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds, 0.5 steals, 0.3 blocks Amen - 5.4 ppg, 41.7% from the field, 16.7% from three, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.2 blocks Ausar - 10.3 ppg, 46.9% from the field, 15.4% from three, 8.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.2 blocks So..... are people still freaking out about not taking a Thompson twin?
Quote from Quick's latest article on Scoot... “I’m starting to make the right reads,” Henderson said. “It might be an easy kick pass, or me being able to get to the cup … or it could be just me getting the shot I want rather than taking the shot the defense wants me to take.” He was so much in a take what the defense gives me mode...so it was nice to see this quote from him. We're starting to see him use his pace and strength to get to what he wants but hope to see it more and more. He's got the physical ability to make the defense uncomfortable, and we just haven't seen much of that so far which has been the most disappointing thing for me.
Lol, how disingenuous. The Thompson twins were practically known for being "draft and stash" type players and solely drafted for their potential in multiple years. This is about as disingenuous as the people saying Scoot is a bust after 20 games or whatever the fuck it's been. Can't wait for someone to bring up the "BUT SCOOT IS YOUNGER" argument. Yeah, he was in the G League and is closer to his ceiling than the Thompson twins because he received more development (and better coaching) than the Twins. Also better comp and, in theory, should be more used to the speed of the game. Another huge element - Drafting one of the Thompson twins likely means Damian Lillard is still a Blazer. Whether that's because we trade the pick or because don't draft the heir apparent at his position.
Oh please... want me to go dig up all the comments about how we should have taken Amen or Ausar when Ausar started out strong? Now they're a draft and stash? And yes.... Scoot is a year younger.
That's really encouraging to hear. He really needs to apply pressure to defenses rather than settling for what they want to give him. If he stops launching 3's, that would be great. Play like Rondo. Refuse to take the 3 and get down hill and create for others if that's the best option.
Yeah the video that @Natebishop3 posted pointed out Scoot's lack of blowbys and insinuated it had something to do with Scoot lacking the explosiveness that every scout thought he had. Obviously the guy that made that video has been looking at stats instead of watching the games. The only reason Scoot isn't blowing by everybody is because he's not using pace or a hesi. The guy is having trouble playing with nuance he's either just north south full speed ahead or passive. He's getting more and more wrinkles in his game every time he steps on the court. You said something about him making defenses uncomfortable and I think the only thing standing in the way of him doing that is him feeling comfortable.
I've been pretty consistent that those guys are developmental players that aren't going to impact winning immediately. Some people may have changed their opinion after a hot start, but that's just as premature as calling Scoot a bust. Why don't you go through the pre-draft thread and point out how many people thought the Twins would be "win now" pieces? LOL
I don't think anyone specifically has said he isn't athletic, but many are questioning the reports of just how athletic. to be clear, I am not one of them.
The Thompson twins played almost triple the games that Scoot played on Ignite but did so with Over Time Elite... I doubt the competition level is that much lower or that the development is that much better. Name me a guy that has come off of the Ignite and been ready for the NBA? So there is no reason to think Scoot is closer to his ceiling. I think one thing that really screwed up a lot of Blazers fans' expectations for Scoot was Cronin disingenuously repeating that Scoot was ready to help Dame win day one. I don't think Joe believed that or thought that Dame would, he was just not trying to be seen as the guy that forced Dame out of town and he was successful but I think our front office knew that Scoot was very very far from a finished product. The fun thing about all of this is we'll all see soon enough. I think anyone who has watched the second half of the last few games and is still trying to unequivocally say that Scoot is a bust needs to see an optometrist.
Go back through the pre-draft thread and tell me that with a straight face. The were plenty of people questioning OTE vs. G League. Many even stated Scoot would be NBA-ready NOW because of it. The G League has former college stars and former NBA players. It's undoubtedly a higher quality of competition. G League Ignite is also a team that is built to "develop" potential NBA prospects. I would wager they have more resources than OTE. And as I said before, the level of competition is undoubtedly superior. In theory, he should be closer to his ceiling than someone playing for OTE. If not, the G League Ignite has SERIOUS issues. As in, what the fuck is the point? And whoever is funding them should cease the program immediately. As for the rest, you may be right. The Blazer brass certainly was acting as if Scoot was a day 1 contributor saying things like "he isn't a normal 19 year old". Personally, I think they bought into that BS. I'm also not saying it's right or wrong. I'm just saying that comparing Scoot to the Thompson twins, whom pre-draft almost everyone was saying they were a project and Scoot wasn't is disingenuous. If pre-draft the narrative was the same, that they ALL would need multiple years of development then it would be a fair comparison. You are essentially comparing Scoot to guys that were consensus tier below him. The only "fair" comparison is Scoot, Wemby and Miller.
If Joe said anything other than what he said we'd have lost leverage in any move we wanted to make to get Dame help.
