Who's your candidate for the "missing piece"?

Nas has potential but I think he's way overhyped over one 30 pt game....I've followed his work out film from this summer and he's not all that special after watching him go one on one with a guy a foot shorter than him...he tends to slump...forces some shots and doesn' t get into a guy's grill when defending...he's young but he couldn't tie Melo's shoes on a basketball court yet....give him time...fine to not like Melo but Melo is better than Nas on a lot of levels so far...Nas has the motor but not the driving skills....he'll get there...the kid is really, really young and his handles leave a lot to be desired..so does his ability to make a tough contested shot...Melo makes those look easy. I'm hoping Roy Rogers gets Nas to the next level..I really hope Nas makes the leap this season but he has still got a big leap to make

 

Yeah, you could come up with more. But I guarantee mine are more painful for the teams that gave up too soon. I am not saying Little is untouchable, but the player we get back needs to be an actual needle mover. Draft picks are often busts because teams are gambling on those high-risk/high ceiling players. Little was a good pick by Neil based on where he was chosen.

Chauncey will see him in practice. He will influence the choice of whether or not to give up on him. We fans have only gotten glimpses so it is hard to say for sure. But man if he can hit that 3-ball like he did early last season....it will open up his whole game driving to the basket. I am excited to see him play. Plus he is versatile on D. I am hoping for a Jerome Kersey effect when he finally got his chance to start. Great rebounding from the SF spot.

 

My intrigue in him has more to do than just his game in Milwaukee when we were down 30 the whole night.

I don't care one bit about his ability to score in isolation. It has all to do with his ability to defend, rebound, slash, hit wide open threes, and finish at the rim with power. He is going to be in the mold of someone like Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith, OG Anunoby, and the like. And from all the pictures this summer, I think he's grown an inch or so since we last saw him.

 

I watched him work out yesterday for a couple videos and he's not a great defender at all yet...I hope he gets set on the right path by the new coaching staff....I like him, he's not ready to guard Lebron from what I've seen this summer ...I think people have put him up bit too high on the rotation ladder so far...I'd hope he could get his jumper off over a guy CJ's height at least...he's a bit raw still...I'd love it if he proved me wrong...one on one he goes left everytime...didn't see him move to the right at all...that's easy to game plan against

 

In person? And how can you tell anything about his defense from watching him workout?

 

I think he's talking about the 6 minute videos of Little going one on one after his workout with his high school buddy from Florida, Ronoldo Segu (junior at Buffalo). You can glean absolutely nothing from that kinda video, but he wants to make something of it.





I can show plenty of videos of Nas locking up Zion in HS games. BFD.

 

he was playing pickup with a trainer and his friends....what do you mean "in person"? I saw him on youtube...he has a series of workouts one and one and 3 on 3 and full court with his trainer and buddies...it's off season..he could've been stoned, hungover or tired...I'm just saying he didn't look like he's all that hype ...I was a bit disappointed ...as I said...he needs to become a two way player and defend well enough to stay in a game to make the cut..just some old fart perspective to balance the chatter that he's this buried star that hasn't played enough...the great news is that the kid IS in the gym and working on it as we type...that's a good thing

 

huh? I'm sure you can but I assumed this was a discussion not a snark contest....jesus dude....I fucking hope I'm wrong from watching him this week...talking about it isn't making shit out of it...its talking about it...come to your own conclusions and cut and paste whatever you like....I come here for discussions, not sparring partners...make your case that he's made the leap this summer, and not in HS...this summer...I'll read it with an open mind..otherwise I don't care to argue

 

I can answer Rasta's questions about my post myself....make something out of that

 

Please enlighten me, what did you learn from the above two videos that you apparently "watched for a couple of hours?" Especially the one where Nas beat the dude in a shutout while taking him to the rim and hitting stepbacks?

Your post made it seem like you were there in person watching him workout.

 

Yeah, I don't think we'll know what kind of progress he's made until we see him in preseason. I won't even trust what I hear coming out of training camp because I've heard our guys hype their young teammates too many times and then seen none of it in games. So I think it's a wait and see situation where no one has a very good argument for where he's at right now.

 

I changed the couple hours...that would've been over a week or so...I did that before you mentioned it...I've been following his videos but I've explained what I gleaned from what I saw...I'm not here to convince you of my conclusion....you apparently have already formed one...did you notice how he tends to go left all the time or were you busy thinking about my posting intentions? Did you notice his body language and how much space he gives a shooter to shoot from? It's off season...I don't expect him to be in regular season game shape yet either

 

Not really, i'm just baffled that anyone can make any conclusion from one on one videos, or summer pickup runs. There's videos of Kanter and Melo dominating superstars (against guys like Harden/Lebron) in NY workout runs, so I really question what you would have learned from those.

What triggered me was your post about Nas being "stoned" or "hungover" while he's winning nearly every game in these videos and showing a nice level of skill on both ends. The one where he won 5-0, he looks like he isn't even trying. How you came to these conclusions, I have no idea.

 

Frankly, I find it hard to believe that Little and Simons are suddenly going to make some great leap. It's unrealistic to blame Stotts alone for their lack of progress.

 

What do you think of most in here clamoring for a backup PG? Do you think Ant's not up to it?

 

Ant just needs to start throwing it down on guys. Up till now, he really hasn't used those hops at all. He will have a defender in front of him who is out of position, and he tries to dipsy doo and lay it in. Throw it down! Get the and 1, and intimidate the enemy.

 

I feel like he needs some strength and weight. That and running pick and roll should be his main focuses IMHO.