Yeah i forgot about him. But then if the coach played to this, maybe Nurk would be right there in assists as well? no denying he is a gifted passer.
The weird thing about Layman is that he can have "normal" bench player nights scoring 6 or 8 points at 50% shooting or whatever, but then he has those nights where he scores like 12 or 16 points in 6/7 or 8/11 from the field...just insane efficiency. I don't remember when i saw anything like that from a role player SF or SG.
jake the ghost layman I love it when you can see the looks on his opponents faces after he completes a lob. Makes them look really bad when there is a "nobody" swinging on the rim above you. Is he a defensive liability? TS must think so??
If you ask him to defend Curry then he will be exposed. But against other 6-9 players in the league he does just fine.
In that video, Grant Hill shows a much bigger repertoire of moves than Layman has now. Maybe someday, but not now. Hill was also the main playmaker on his team.
Surround Hill with Lillard and CJ. Then bring Hill off the bench in his third year and you would see much of the same. Put Layman on a team as the first option and you might see more moves. But that is not the conversation now is it? The conversation is the type of player he is. Hill does match pretty well is all @riverman is saying.
No, Layman accidentally increasing his assists through osmosis is not the same as Hill being an alpha male point forward--dribbling the ball downcourt on most possessions, stopping, drawing the defense to him, looking over the entire court for a pass receiver, then drilling an amazing 90mph fastball from one corner of the half-court to another right through the arms of several defenders, to a shooter who got open because the defense had been attracted to Hill. Many, many possessions per game. Grant Hill did it all. Forgot to mention his rebounding and defense. Maybe someday Layman will be a superstar too, but as of now, there is no comparison. Note: I'm describing Hill pre-injury, not post-injury. It's like describing Jabbar as a Buck, and fans who only saw him as a Laker say, Huh? He was good, but not great.
Grant Hill....franchise player...number one option..third first round draft pick Jake Layman...2nd round project...still pulling splinters from his butt....just started breaking a sweat...owned the Idaho Stampede when he was the go to guy result.....Hill and Layman have similar body types, shooting form, off ball skills, good handles.....great motors....When Jake becomes the franchise player and number one option we'll have a better parameter for comparisons...would help if he could break a sweat for 82 games and play a full season
I'm a Jake fan, but he does not have good handles. Batum is more like prime Grant Hill than Layman is.
You are talking about a franchise player on a team that was 28-54 by the end of the season. It's like you are not even listening to anything anyone is saying here? Of course Grant Hill had better moments. If Jake was on a team that was tanking he would look great also. Probably not as good as Grant Hill but all anyone said was "SIMILAR".
Got to question Batum's handles also really but he was solid with his decision making. I did like that about Nic. He didn't try to do things he couldn't do. Jake goes for things a bit that maybe he shouldn't? Maybe that is the way i see it?
Batum's handles are better than Layman and Batum's passing were far more on par with Hill's. I'm just saying, if we're going to compare Hill and Layman, there's many players we could compare to Hill in the same light.
Another thing Nic brought was the solid inbound pass. I know it seems like a little thing but having a player that inbounds a ball well is very important. Not only that but they also had to guard him as soon as the ball was inbounded. This is why Turner is not the same. He is not a threat to catch and shoot quickly.
When Nico played his game he had a beautiful game to watch...he was graceful and had good timing and a very good defender...that was not Nico's issue though...guy had a superstar game and a role players drive....after he got his first big contract it showed and I always felt Nico at the end was not a gym rat, liked to spend time with the franchise he invested in in France and wants a front office job. People always said that's what Nico showed interest in more than anything...front office and management tools.I watch Layman play and I think of players with some similar trends in their skillset...sure...I've mentioned so many times that what we've seen from Jake so far is just a teaser...given rotation minutes and touches I think the guy could become a great player. He said himself that defense is the part of his game that needs the most attention and he's right
Jake just started playing over 20 minutes regularly.... there's already a discussion about him and Grant Hill. That's why I love this board.
That's the thing about comparisons...they are just impressions...I brought up this comparison because the more I watch him the more I think he's just waiting to explode given the opportunity. There are many players we can compare to every player in the league but no need to water it down...better to offer an alternative comparison ….your impression if you will...the Hill one was mine. It's fine to disagree with my take on it. I stand by it.
That was me....off the cuff but purely a gut post...no stat machine or fine tooth comb. I really didn't expect it to become a "discussion"
