It's a shame they were showing that kid shooting shots in Japan during his dunk. Granted, it was in a blow out loss and usually who cares, but it reminded me of how the broadcast used to show replays during the middle of damn plays.
Nah, Layman is a much better athlete than Korver and brings more to the table than just shooting (which btw will probably never be on Korvers elite level.) Hayward coming out of college had the same body as Layman and some of the same questions (is he too passive? Can he handle the ball, etc)
Certainly it was garbage time but there are still some things we can garner from what we saw: Kid can shoot....and this team needs that in the worst way. Right now on offense, it is 2-on-5 because other teams have no respect for Harkless, Aminu or Plumlee. Even when they do score, it is mostly because they are wide-open and finally hit a shot. Playing small doesn't work when 3 of the 5 guys on the floor can't score. Solid basketball IQ for a rookie. He can handle the ball a bit, dropped a pass to a teammate and then immediately relocated to get the ball back for an open shot. Also drove the lane, drew a double-team, took his time and found an open Vonleh for '3'. Any of those previous references happen very infrequently for either Aminu, Harkless or Crabbe. Fundamental shot: Aminu shoots from his shoulder on the side and Harkless is an unsquared up, legs far apart set shot. Only Crabbe of the '3' has what I would call a repeatable shot that is equal to Jake's. Defense? Well, since most of the rest of the team isn't playing defense either, at least he can help spread the floor and make solid basketball decisions on the floor. My fear is much like Stotts wouldn't play CJ which caused a wasted pick to be spent on Afflalo, Stotts won't use him again unless it is a blowout.
Actually @Mediocre Man had it right. Layman is Larry Bird in skill set(shooting touch and moves on the floor.) only right now but who knows, maybe he becomes Bird in talent too!
Right now this new kid is only a Tom Chambers but next season as a Rick Barry, I'm confident that with time he'll surpass Bird in the record books.
Remember when we talked about rookies needing time to adjust to the extra distance for the NBA 3 point line? And that summer league was too soon to judge? Looks like Jake has adjusted. I am not saying he is ready to start, just that he has an effortless 3 pt shot. Certainly he will have another adjustment period once NBA players start guarding him.....but none the less he has a sweet looking shot....with range. Oh it also looks like he can shoot it off the dribble, not just a set shot. Huge difference.
I didn't see last night's game but I was shocked and awed by Layman in preseason. What I saw of him in preseason was terrible defense and terrific offense. Sounds like he repeated at least the offensive performance last night. The guy can score, that's for sure.
One thing I like about Layman's college career, and I mentioned this when we drafted him, he improved all of his shooting percentages every year at Maryland. FG% .396 .401 .470 .500 3FG% .299 .365 .378 .396 FT% .694 .719 .752 .832 So, even though his per game numbers didn't change much between his sophomore and senior years, his efficiency improved every year. It also shows he was putting in the work necessary to become a better shooter. He's obviously also put in work on his shot since summer league. Yeah, last night was just one game, but I like that he has a proven track record of improving his shooting. This team needs more reliable shooters. The stagnation of the per game numbers had a lot to do with his teammates, coaching and the system he played in. BNM
Only a Tom Chambers? Tom as a PF that averaged over 27ppg in his prime. Also, tom made 227 3 pointers in his 17 year nba career. He was more of an inside player. Terrible comparison.
It has been mentioned he got shots in garbage time and not sure if he can play defense. My counter to that would be: Aminu and Harkless get wide open shots all the time because of the concentration of the opponent on Dame/CJ. So he doesn't need to create a lot for himself and when he does, he already has a better handle than Aminu, Harkless or Crabbe. Outside of Aminu sometimes and hopefully Ezeli, no one can be granted the 'defensive immunity' card so why not have a guy in there that can hit a shot and is at least a threat. On TB last night, Orlando Williams pointed out how the Warriors were completely sagging off of Aminu and Harkless and 3 Warriors hand they feet in the paint at all times. That makes it even more amazing what Dame is doing. Get him some help. This team may be deeper but there still isn't a 3rd out there to compliment the two guards and there is an abject void of anything inside of 15' unless it is a laying off of a one-on-one move that beats a defender.
Defensively he will get found out a lot in the league at first, I imagine, but offensively he's got the tools to do well. Good shooter, good handles, can dunk, also got size. For a second round pick he might actually turn out quite decent. We got him from Orlando basically so he will probably turn out a steal.
