It would be nice to have some numbers that are moving averages, or different starting points. As I mentioned earlier, Scoot has shot 34.8 percent on his 3-pointers in the last 6 games after coming back from his injury. That's when he started wearing contact lenses and goggles.
Also. Contextualize everything please. We traded a 2nd rounder for him (don’t even remember if it was a good or bad 2nd), he’s turned into a plus 3pt shooter, has had a noticeable impact on our defense improving, and will only be paid like $11m a year for the next two seasons after this one. How much greater could you have expected from a 2nd round pick big homie? I can assure you that if this Thybulle was playing in Philly, he wouldn’t have been traded. He’s well worth a 2nd rounder, it was clearly an undersell because they gave up on him. This percentage on 6-8 3pa a game, he’s worth a 1st rounder given his salary.
The one absolute positive is that physically, Scoot is already built like a brick wall. The only running back I care about (Isiah Pacheco) is 5’11, 216lb, and is turning 25. Scoot is taller and the same weight, but dude is five years younger than Pacheco. That’s insane. Scoot is going to figure out the foul calling eventually. I love seeing him fight in the post against guys so much bigger, even if he gets called for a foul. The next step is to do so without fouling so we can see how good he is at actually defending the post against bigger players and having success. Taking that challenge early as a rookie bodes well for his development on the defensive end. If he can have success in the post against bigger players, he’ll have no problem guarding the perimeter against much weaker guards because he isn’t slow footed. And obviously, when he figures out the game, the physical gifts are going to eventually pop off the screen. When he is a better driver, guys are going to have a hard time pushing him off his spot.
I think that even if you don’t think he has generational talent, every Blazers fan should still have high hopes in him becoming a superstar. The qualities that made him a “superstar prospect” have not changed. His physical gifts are still God-given. He is struggling with shot, but we all knew that would be the case. The turnovers are there, but the number of great assists that I remember from this season so far still point to the fact that he’s a true PG. He’s fouling a lot, but players learn to adjust to the foul-calling eventually. The fact that he is willing to defend is already a good sign that he can become a good two way player eventually given the physical gifts. This isn’t a situation like Fultz where he came in as a 40% shooter from 3 and dominated the ncaa in all categories (even averaging like 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals or something like that). Fultz’s confidence was shot without the shot falling, and he was already never seen as a true PG, just a good combo guard. Using a top pick on a combo guard that suddenly can’t shoot or score or run the offense or anything else, that would be a problem. I haven’t seen the same concerns with Scoot.
To me Scoot's "superstar" talent is all in his size/strength/speed/court vision blend. I have seen all of these things. His combination of size and speed is what is really going to make him different. He is having a tough time harnessing his speed, as all defenses are sagging off of him until they at least respect his jump shot. I have full faith the dude puts it all together. As an added bonus, his defense is 100 times better as a rookie than I thought it would be. We are going to need patience, but the payoff will be worth it in my opinion, even if he looks a bit rough to start out. He has some talents that cannot be taught though. Now to work on the parts that can be taught.
Me too. Fouls aside, he’s looked good on that side of the floor to me. Even on fouls, it isn’t like he’s getting all fouls against opposing guards, he is getting a lot scrapping with guys that play PF at times. The fouls suck sometimes cause he doesn’t get to play his usual minutes, but the fact that he’s battling in the post at all is a VERY encouraging sign. If Scoot can guard SGs and SFs on switches (no one expects him to stop a PG/Kawhi), this team is going to be a major major problem. If your PG who should be your worst defender on the court can guard the Foxes, Lavines, maybe even Browns of the world, we might develop into one the top 3-5 defenses in the NBA for a long stretch of years (that’s not considering who our starting SF and PF could be in a few years.
He needs to learn how to finish through contact. He's strong enough that it shouldn't be a big problem.
I remember Eric Bledsoe being a thorn in our side for a couple years in Phoenix. This guy would get between 20-30ppg and around 4-8rpg/apg routinely against us. I don’t think he ever scored below 20 against us if I’m being honest. Scoot is about 3 inches taller and looks just as built as Bledsoe when he came in, AND he is an infinitely better PG prospect (meaning distributing the ball) than Bledsoe ever was.
yeah honestly I want to start his stat tracking from that point on; proper eyewear is too important to ignore
More thoughts on his foul troubles— Let’s remember that Shae also had major issues with foul trouble in the beginning. It wasn’t as noticeable because he was playing among a bunch of vets, and getting quick fouls means getting yanked, for longer than he should’ve. Once he got more playing time, the fouls came, he had plenty of 4-5 foul games and a disqualification. Scoot’s fouls are more noticeable in a year where we don’t have expectations and the fans just want the young guys to develop. That’s fine. For the people who love Brogdon, this is the reason to have him here for now. Brogdon is the PG to properly run everything that Coach wants to run to help everyone else develop, and Scoot can just figures out his feel for the NBA game to catch up to the team before Brogdon is shipped.
